Cocaine and booze-fuelled Leeds driver mounted kerb in busy holiday town to evade police

Police spotted 34-year-old Andrew James Conn taking a corner at speed in Cleethorpes town centre on the evening of April 9 and tried to pull him over.

But he then U-turned his Peugeot 206 and mounted the pavement in an effort to flee the pursuing officers.

He pulled out at a roundabout before appearing to stop, but as officers got out to speak with him, he drove off again, reaching speeds of 50mph in 30mph zones.

Conn then almost caused a head-on collision with the opposite vehicle forced to take evasive action.

He eventually came to a stop, but was found to have 59 mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath – the legal limit is 35 mcgs.

Conn was also found to be four times over the limit for driving while on cocaine.

Prosecutor Jessica Heggie told Leeds Crown Court that Conn has six previous convictions, including drink driving in 2013 for which he received an 18-month ban, making off without payment and taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Appearing in court via video link from HMP Leeds, the father-of-three admitted dangerous driving and being over the limit for alcohol and cocaine.

Mitigating, David Hewitt said: “He is ashamed of himself and is glad that nobody was hurt.

"While it’s very serious, it’s not the most serious example of dangerous driving and was not involved in an accident.”

Mr Hewitt said that Conn, of Hyde Park Road, Leeds, was suffering from “drug-induced psychosis” at the time after turning to drink and illegal substances as a “coping mechanism” for his deteriorating mental health.

He said he was a hard-working forklift truck driver and recognised that he needed help.

Judge Tom Bayliss KC told him: “This was extremely dangerous driving. You put yourself, the officers and members of the public at considerable risk.

"There’s no excuse for this. There has to be a custodial sentence to bring it home to you and the public that this kind of behaviour won’t be tolerated.”

He jailed him for six months and and banned him from driving for three years and three months.