Runaway driver offers police safety advice after leading them on dangerous pursuit in Ashfield

Steven Ball, aged 42, was spotted driving with no insurance in Diamond Avenue, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, shortly after 10am on Tuesday January 20 .

After being instructed to stop by a member of our Road Crime Team, Ball sped away – reaching speeds of more than 70mph as he passed through residential streets.

After mounting a grass verge in Beacon Drive, Ball continued driving his ageing Toyota Rav4 at dangerous speeds – going head-to-head with a bin lorry before eventually mounting a pavement in Kingsway and becoming wedged between a parked car and a lamppost.

Shortly after he was removed from the vehicle, Ball surprised officers by giving them unsolicited advice on public safety – claiming: “You are meant to call it off when it gets to crowded areas because it’s dangerous.”

Ball, who has previous convictions for drugs and driving offences, also claimed to have been pushed into his rampage by the pursuing officers, while suggesting an existing suspended jail sentence had prevented him from stopping.

He later refused to be interviewed by officers but pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving whilst disqualified, driving without insurance and a public order offence.

Ball, of no fixed address, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on 18 March and was jailed for 25 months.

He was also banned from driving for three years and 11 months.

Detective Sergeant Clint Gloyn said: “Ball put multiple lives in danger that day with an extremely dangerous display of driving.

“Sadly for him, his subsequent claim that he somehow cared about public safety came moments after he’d mounted a pavement in a pedestrianised area and driven at more than twice the speed limit through residential streets.

“I am pleased he is now in prison where he can no longer threaten the safety of other road users and pedestrians.”

Detective Inspector Jamie Moore, head of Roads Policing, added: “Our Road Crime Team officers are highly trained professionals with all the necessary skills and experience to drive in this way whilst communicating with colleagues and managing the risk to the public.

“People like Stephen Ball are not, which is why this pursuit ended in the way it did, and why he is now serving a well-deserved prison sentence.”