An escaped prisoner who led officers from Kent Police on a pursuit near Sittingbourne has been jailed (scroll down for footage).
William Adams was handed a two-year and four-month prison sentence after admitting dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.
He was additionally charged with being unlawfully at large after he absconded from a prison in Sussex on 14 July 2021. Adams was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court last month.
22-year-old Adams failed to stop for officers when he was seen driving a van suspiciously on the A249, near the Stockbury roundabout, on Tuesday 23 November 2021.
Officers believed he was driving using false number plates and requested him to stop at 11:55 hours, however, he continued driving and led officers on a 10-minute police pursuit.
During the incident, three police cars were damaged by Adams’ van, with one of the cars being knocked off the road where it was in a collision with a tree and caught fire.
Officers brought the van to a controlled stop on the Key Street roundabout as he tried to drive into oncoming traffic.
Adams then attempted to run from the scene but was apprehended by officers and arrested.
A 20-year-old man from Sittingbourne was also arrested for his alleged involvement in the pursuit on 23 November.
He was later released without charge.
As well as being sentenced Adams was disqualified from driving for four years and eight months.
Investigating officer PC James Ring said:
‘Adams refused to stop when requested to do so and instead drove in an erratic and unsafe manner through several residential streets.
‘During the pursuit, two vehicles belonging to members of the public received minor damage and it was only sheer luck that nobody was injured.
‘His sentence is reflective of his criminality and I’m pleased he has been brought to justice.’
Join our WhatsApp community!
ESN is now on WhatsApp, and we want you to join our communities.
To join, you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is click the link and press 'Join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up, and no one can send messages except the ESN team.
Joining our WhatsApp channel is a great way to help support our work and best of all, it is free!
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
