Danger driver from Hartlepool jailed after racing from police at almost THREE TIMES the speed limit in his parents' car

A judge jailed a high-speed dangerous driver from Hartlepool saying that he could have killed pursuing police officers.
Alan Metcalfe, 40, of West View Road, Hartlepool, was jailed at Teesside Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.Alan Metcalfe, 40, of West View Road, Hartlepool, was jailed at Teesside Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.
Alan Metcalfe, 40, of West View Road, Hartlepool, was jailed at Teesside Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

The midnight drive by Alan Metcalfe,40, in his parents' Kia car reached 85mph through 30mph streets of Hartlepool before he lost control and stopped just inches away from a metal barrier on a roundabout.

Prosecutor Jenny Haigh told Teesside Crown Court the pursuit lasted only a minute but Metcalfe drove through a red light before he and a passenger abandoned the car and were caught after a chase on foot.

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Miss Haigh said he refused to watch the patrol car's CCTV footage after he was arrested.

The officers had seen the dark-coloured Kia driving towards them on December 19, and they turned around to follow it.

After abandoning the car Metcalfe ran on to waste ground and he had to be forcibly brought down.

He now faces a Teesside Magistrates Court trial for failing to provide a second breath test.

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He had 22 convictions for 36 offences for drink and drugs and he had breached a suspended prison sentence for possession of a blade.

Andrew Teate, defending, said that Metcalfe had been on remand in prison for six weeks and he had entered his guilty plea to dangerous driving at the earliest opportunity.

He said that Metcalfe was now on a stable methadone programme, and he was desperate to return home to his children.

Judge Sean Morris said after reading a pre-sentence report on him: "You are one of those defendants who plead guilty but it is everybody else to blame.

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"You are not going to comply with anything else apart from custody.

"You put police officers lives at risk by doing this.

"I'm not bothered about your life, but you put others lives at risk including children."

Metcalfe, of West View Road, Hartlepool, who appeared over a videolink from Durham Prison, was jailed for 10 months and disqualified for 12 months and until he passes an extended driving test after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.