Dangerous driver led police through Doncaster villages

Haxhi Hoxa was driving too fast in a grey Audi on Sprotborough Road, Doncaster, in the early hours of August 1, when he was spotted by police.

He drove off through some roadworks and reached 70mph in a 40mph zone, before pulling over, said prosecutor Katy Varlow.

But when the officer got out and told him to switch off the engine, Hoxa sped off and was pursued through "twisty and rural roads."

The chase wound through High Melton and Barnburgh and ended on Homecroft Road, Goldthorpe, where he tried to run away.

"He changed his mind when the officer warned him he had a Taser," said Ms Varlow.

"He gave a French name to police and a French interpreter was called to the station."

It took a few hours, the court heard, before his real identity was revealed. He gave a no-comment interview.

Dominic Thomas, mitigating, said Hoxa, an Albanian, has no previous convictions.

"It was a foolish attempt to avoid arrest in his proper name," he said. "No other road users seem to have been put at risk. The reason for the evasion is the lack of papers for driving the car.

"He said that where he is from he is not well treated by the police. That idea was wholly disproved by his experience with the British police."

Hoxa, 30, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance and obstructing a police officer on August 3.

On Friday, Recorder Peter Hampton said the CCTV footage made for "terrifying viewing."

"If a shift worker had been finishing late or starting earlier the consequences could have been catastrophic," he told the defendant.

He sentenced Hoxa to 12 months in prison and banned him from driving for two and a half years. He ordered him to take the extended re-test before he gets behind the wheel of a car again.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court here.

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