Speeding driver climbs into back seat in attempt to convince police he was a passenger
‘It’s all on camera pal, so let’s not be daft,’ officer tells David Brennan
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A dangerous driver tried to fool police by diving into the back seat of his car after leading them on a 137mph chase.
David Brennan, 23, claimed he was an innocent passenger when officers stopped him in a Mini Cooper on the M6 in the West Midlands.
“I wasn’t even driving,” he protested as his hands were cuffed behind his back.
However, his cunning plan was quickly shot down by police.
“Yes, you was mate,” replied one officer. “It’s all on camera as well pal, so let’s not be daft.”
The high-speed pursuit began when police spotted the Mini Cooper on the afternoon of 18 September.
Realising it matched the description of a vehicle stolen in a burglary in Halesowen, officers followed it on to the M6 motorway.
Brennan regularly topped speeds of 100mph as he weaved between lanes and on to the hard shoulder in an attempt to evade arrest.
The pursuit finally came to an end at junction 10 when he tried to do a U-turn and drive the wrong way up a slip road.
Police rammed the Mini to bring the chase to an end as another patrol car cut off its escape route.
Video footage then captured heavily-built Brennan clambering into the back to leave his friend in the front sitting next to an empty driver’s seat.
“Brennan thought he could pull the wool over our eyes with a quick jump over the seats and into the back of the car, but we’d seen it happen and it was all caught on video,” said Police Sergeant Mitch Darby. “This was appalling driving on one of the busiest sections of motorway in the country, which put other drivers at risk. We had no option but to use our training to safely bring the pursuit to an end, before the Mini had a chance to go on to potentially be involved in a head-on collision on the slip road.”
Brennan of Bartley Green, was jailed for 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.
He was given a further three-year driving ban.