Ashfield councillor hit police car after 60mph-plus 'chase' through Sutton town centre

Nottingham Magistrates’ Court heard that when a police officer spotted Coun Tom Hollis ‘flying’ along Outram Street in his £50,000 Range Rover Evoque, at twice the 30mph speed limit, he said: “Bloody hell, that’s travelling.”

Hollis ‘almost collided’ with another police car travelling in the opposite direction as he was chased for just under a mile, on August 17, at about 10pm, his one-day trial was told.

Hollis crossed mini-roundabouts ‘unsafely’ and entered the petrol forecourt of Asda, on Priestsic Road ‘fast’, before coming to an ‘urgent stop’ and making a 41-year-old witness at the pumps step back in shock and fear.

The witness said: “It didn’t appear to slow down. There was loud music coming from the vehicle. It looked like a full-blown police chase.”

Hollis reversed into the front end of the unmarked police car, and a second police officer told the court: “If I was a bit quicker out of the vehicle that could have been myself who got crushed between the two vehicles.”

Hollis, who had denied driving without due care and attention, gesticulated and shouted aggressively at the officers, claiming it was ‘all a police conspiracy’.

He struggled with the officers as they tried to grab his dash-cam, but was not charged with obstructing police and the camera’s SD card has not been recovered.

The court heard Hollis had been playing bingo with friends that evening after ‘lots of stress at work’, but denied driving carelessly or speeding.

He said the allegations were ‘laughable’ and disproven by CCTV.

He claimed he hit the police car by accident after making proper checks and became frustrated because he had recently been stopped three times by police.

However, District Judge Grace Leong today rejected Hollis's version of events as ‘implausible’ and said he was very lucky not to be prosecuted for dangerous driving.

It is the second conviction in a matter of days for Hollis, Ashfield Independents’ Ashfield Council member for Huthwaite & Brierley and Nottinghamshire Council member for Sutton West.

The 29-year-old, of Yew Tree Drive, Huthwaite, was also found guilty of harassment without violence, following a two-day trial at the same court earlier this week.

He will be sentenced for all matters on October 13, but is reportedly considering appealing his harassment conviction.