An uninsured driver jumped from his moving car only for it to trap him against a fence and partially sever his thumb.
Kevin Barlow has been jailed for a year and disqualified after the pursuit across Swindon, during which he had a knife in his car.
Barlow, 25, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, for which he was given a nine-month sentence at Swindon Crown Court on Monday, 22 November.
He was given a further three months for having a knife in a public place and was disqualified from driving for 27 months for the dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
A police spokesperson said that following reports received of a man brandishing a knife from a car, officers spotted a Ford Focus being driven by Barlow down Swindon Road at speed shortly after midnight on 11 November last year.
They followed the car, which turned onto Bridgend Road as it continued to break the speed limit. When attempts were made to stop the vehicle, the car continued at speed.
The car was driven up the wrong side of Cirencester Way, a dual carriageway, narrowly missing vehicles coming in the other direction, and reaching 70mph.
The pursuit came to an end on Duchess Way, which is a dead end, before Barlow jumped out of the moving car and was trapped between the vehicle and a fence, suffering a partial amputation of the thumb on his right hand.
He attended hospital where he refused to provide a specimen of blood for analysis. A search of Barlow’s car revealed a knife in the driver’s door pocket.
PC James Salmond, of Wiltshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “Barlow’s actions on the night in question caused considerable concern to the wider public, not only in his manner of driving to evade being caught, but his flagrant use of a knife which is why we were called in the first place.
“Thankfully, no member of the public came to harm as a result of his actions, considering the speeds he was driving at on the wrong side of the road during the pursuit.
“Barlow will now have time in prison to consider his actions and we’d like to reassure the public that behaviour like this will not be tolerated across Wiltshire.
“Failure to provide a sample for analysis as well will not mean that you will get off lightly from either drink or drug driving, but will face significant consequences, as proven here.”
Barlow, 25, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, for which he was given a nine-month sentence at Swindon Crown Court on Monday, 22 November.
He was given a further three months for having a knife in a public place and was disqualified from driving for 27 months for the dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
A police spokesperson said that following reports received of a man brandishing a knife from a car, officers spotted a Ford Focus being driven by Barlow down Swindon Road at speed shortly after midnight on 11 November last year.
They followed the car, which turned onto Bridgend Road as it continued to break the speed limit. When attempts were made to stop the vehicle, the car continued at speed.
The car was driven up the wrong side of Cirencester Way, a dual carriageway, narrowly missing vehicles coming in the other direction, and reaching 70mph.
The pursuit came to an end on Duchess Way, which is a dead end, before Barlow jumped out of the moving car and was trapped between the vehicle and a fence, suffering a partial amputation of the thumb on his right hand.
He attended hospital where he refused to provide a specimen of blood for analysis. A search of Barlow’s car revealed a knife in the driver’s door pocket.
PC James Salmond, of Wiltshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “Barlow’s actions on the night in question caused considerable concern to the wider public, not only in his manner of driving to evade being caught, but his flagrant use of a knife which is why we were called in the first place.
“Thankfully, no member of the public came to harm as a result of his actions, considering the speeds he was driving at on the wrong side of the road during the pursuit.
“Barlow will now have time in prison to consider his actions and we’d like to reassure the public that behaviour like this will not be tolerated across Wiltshire.
“Failure to provide a sample for analysis as well will not mean that you will get off lightly from either drink or drug driving, but will face significant consequences, as proven here.”
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