Driver from South Yorkshire high on a cocktail of drugs Tasered by cops after dangerous chase

Christopher West broke the speed limit driving through Howarth after his stolen Citroen Xsara Picasso triggered an ANPR camera, on December 27, 2019.

He ignored warnings to stop and drove on the wrong side of wet and unlit roads, before swerving in front of one police car, said prosecutor Katherine Wilson.

West, aged 49, was carrying three passengers when he reversed into the police vehicles at speed, damaging them both and giving one officer whiplash.

The Picasso was brought to a stop when a stinger was deployed in the village of Styrupp, but West kept revving the engine as if to make off.

One officer cut his fingers when he smashed the driver's window and Tasered a "groggy" West. Tests revealed he had a mixture of drugs in his system, including cocaine and morphine.

He later denied stealing the car, or knowing it had been stolen during a South Yorkshire burglary on Christmas Day, two days earlier.

Stacey Merritt, mitigating, said West handed himself in after learning a warrant had been issued for his arrest and he deserved credit for his early guilty plea.

She said he is "quite heavily convicted for a variety of different offences" but has largely stayed out of trouble since October 2017.

He now volunteers for a South Yorkshire charity which encourages people to get tested for hepatitis, she said, and hopes to gain a job there in the near future. He is also involved in a boxing club for people recovering from drug misuse.

"He does feel he is in a stable and positive situation for the first time in a long while," Ms Merritt said. "He is a changed man now."

Probation officer Greta Percival confirmed he has been free of illicit drugs and on a methadone prescription since June 2020.

West, of Muglet Lane, Maltby, admitted dangerous driving while unfit through drugs, and driving without a licence or insurance, at Sheffield Magistrates Court, on January 31.

On Thursday, magistrates in Mansfield gave him 16 weeks, suspended for 18 months, with 15 rehabilitation days.

He was banned for two years and must pay a £122 surcharge with £85 costs.