A MOTORIST whose dangerous high-speed driving triggered a police pursuit late at night in the Penrith area later told officers: “It’s just my normal driving.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Blake Stuart, who sped past alarmed pedestrians on a residential Penrith street near the town centre, drove through a blind junction without stopping, exposing nearby pedestrians to "serious risk".
At a later court hearing, he pleaded guilty to a single count of dangerous driving. Carlisle Crown Court heard that it was the fourth time the defendant’s poor or illegal driving had got him into trouble.
His previous offences include a drink driving in 2013, a failing to stop after an accident in the same year, and a similar offence in 2016.
Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting at Carlisle Crown Court, outlined the facts. He said police officers were dealing with another driver in Sandgate, Penrith, at 1.50am on Friday, May 6, when they saw the defendant's BMW1 series car drive past.
It was “greatly exceeding” the speed limit, the court heard.
The officers noticed both the defendant, of Stricklandgate, Penrith, and his passenger, looked at them as the BMW was driven past them.
They began pursuing the BMW, which continued to speed away as it followed a route that took in a blind junction with Carleton Road and then Beacon Edge. At one point, two pedestrians standing on a narrow stretch of pavement on Folly Lane were seen to be “visibly alarmed” as the BMW sped past.
After initially losing sight of the BMW as it raced away, the officers continued searching for the defendant, who was eventually found hiding behind a drystone wall.
When he was interviewed, he accused police of “making stuff up”. He also admitted he had not been looking at his speedometer as he drove away from the police.
Andrew Gurney, defending, told Judge Richard Archer: “It was simply a moment of madness. There's no justification for him driving in the manner he did and he can’t account for driving in the way he did.”
As a father of two children – one being a five-day old baby girl – Stuart wanted to do better and did not want to offend again.
Judge Archer noted that the defendant’s previous sentences for driving offences – and the fact that he was at that time of the latest offence - the father of a young child had not prevented him from behaving has he had.
His driving in Penrith town centre put the pedestrians he sped past at “serious risk of harm,” said the judge. Judge Archer also noted how Stuart drove without stopping through a stop sign at a dangerous Penrith junction.
The defence lawyer’s “moment of madness” point had to be set against the background of this being the fourth time Stuart was prosecuted for illegal driving.
The judge said: “You were subjected to rehabilitation in 2016 which has done little to prevent you from reoffending. You described that [driving] as the normal way in which you would drive.”
Thus, is was far from certain that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, remarked the judge. Judge Archer jailed Stuart for six months. He also imposed a ban of two years and three months.
The defendant will not be allowed to drive independently again until he has passed an extended retest.
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