A BANNED driver with an appalling record of motoring convictions led police on a 30-minute chase through town and country before he was finally arrested after abandoning his vehicle on a farm.
Driving while disqualified led to Andrew Bage's 40th conviction, in what a judge described as one of the worst cases of its kind he had seen.
Police were alerted after Bage, 46, was seen getting into an Astra van "in drink" after leaving the Mermaid pub in Bridlington at 12.40am on New Year's Day.
Two officers in a patrol car attended and put on their lights and siren in an attempt to flag him down, but Bage sped off towards the A614.
The landscape gardener led them on a ten-mile chase, occasionally driving on the wrong side of the road, speeding and causing damage to one of the three police cars that took part in the pursuit, supported by a police helicopter.
In a route that took in parts of Bridlington and villages including Carnaby, Haisthorpe and Burton Agnes, Bage failed to stop at junctions and reached speeds of 50mph in 30mph zones, and 70mph in 60mph zones.
At one point, he stopped so quickly, a police car ran into the back of his van, and when Bage pulled off again, his vehicle tore the bumper off the police car.
As he reached the village of Great Kelk, near Driffield, he ran over a police "stinger", designed to puncture tyres, but carried on and was seen entering Southend Farm.
There, Bage abandoned the vehicle – and a female passenger and pet dog – and fled on foot before being arrested.
He later admitted dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.
Paul Genney, for Bage, said: "Mr Bage has a fairly rebellious sort of nature, if I can put it that way. He's a little unconventional.
"He says that he went out, it was New Year's Eve, he wasn't aware at the time he was banned – possibly that's a case of head in the sand.
"He was disqualified but didn't attend court and took the risk.
"He then says that having seen the police car lights, he made a bad decision. That's undoubtedly true.
"Having made it, he was committed to it and sped off into the countryside."
Sentencing Bage to a total of 15 months in prison at Hull Crown Court, Recorder Graeme Cook said: "It's extremely serious and one of the most serious elements of dangerous driving that I have come across, in view of the length and distance involved."
Referring to a pre-sentence report, the judge told Bage: "There clearly is no remorse whatsoever in this report. You are justifying what happened and being critical of the police.
"The public would be appalled if I did not impose such a sentence."
Bage, of Main Street, Beeford, who listened to proceedings through a video-link from prison, was also banned from driving for two years and was told there was a £100 victim surcharge to pay.
"Not by me, my lord," he replied.
After the hearing, Laura Woods, of road safety charity Brake, said: "Drivers who flout bans are making a mockery of the justice system, proving they have no respect for the law or the lives of others.
"We need stronger penalties for people who drive when disqualified to provide a real deterrent and underline the severity of these crimes."
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