|
Drugged-up thief rams car in garden centre escape
 |
| Thomas Atkins |
|
Staff at a Worcester garden centre risked being hurt as they tried to stop a thief who was high on a cocktail of drugs making his escape, a court heard.
One member of staff at the Wyevale Garden Centre in Droitwich Road parked her own car to block the path of Thomas Atkins as he fled in a Ford Focus with two other men, Worcester Crown Court was told. Another member of staff stood between the two cars but had to leap out of the way as Atkins drove at her and his car brushed her leg, Siobhan Collins, prosecuting, told the court.
He then rammed the car blocking his path and reversed and drove into it "three or four times" to knock it away at an angle and get past, causing £1,000 worth of damage, Miss Collins said.
Staff had seen Atkins and his two accomplices, who were not before the court, at about 4.45pm on May 26 last year, she said. They had loaded up a trolley with a barbecue set, some outdoor lights, seat cushions and a packet of marshmallows worth a total of £500 when they were spotted making their way out.
Atkins sped off from the car park towards Droitwich and was picked up by police in Frankley heading towards Birmingham. As they pursued him, he hit speeds of up to 60 mph in 30 mph zones and drove on the wrong side of the road. Onboard footage from the police car camera played to the court showed other cars having to take evasive action as he tried to outrun the police, eventually hitting a dead end and doing a U turn in a park. He drove back out head first into one of the pursuing police cars.
He told police he had taken heroin, diazepam and liquid morphine but he refused to have a blood test.
Atkins, of Hope Place, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to theft, dangerous driving and refusing to give a specimen.
Sukhdev Garcha (CORRECT) said the 47-year-old had a "dangerous" drug habit and committed offences to pay for it. He had been in and out of prison and was already subject to three suspended sentences.
Judge Robert Juckes, QC, said that the driving had been "life-threatening" and was almost at its worst in the car park of the garden centre.
"In your desperate effort to get away from the shop where you had been caught stealing you drove your car at a person trying to stop you and rammed a car out of the way," he told Atkins. "You put their safety very much at risk in the process."
Atkins was given 15 months in jail for dangerous driving with three months for failing to provide a specimen consecutively and three months concurrent for theft, a total of 18 months. The suspended sentences remain in force on his release. He was banned from driving for three years and will have to take an extended re-test.
 |
|
