Copyright birminghammail
A 'dangerous' driver hit speeds of 80mph in a stolen car while being chased by police. Matthew Mark Stevens was spotted behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Crossland on the A34 between Stone and Stafford. The 24-year-old failed to stop for officers and drove down rural lanes and made an abrupt U-turn on a farm track before driving off-road to evade police vehicles. READ MORE: CCTV captures moment shots fired at Oldbury home Police pursued the Vauxhall onto the A51, where it turned left towards Stone before going right onto Hilderstone Road. Stevens travelled at 80mph for around two miles, and dangerously overtook other vehicles before hitting the side of an Audi Q3, causing the airbags to deploy and extensive damage to both cars. Stevens and a single passenger in the Crossland then abandoned the vehicle and ran off across farmland. Officers recovered a blue jacket and mobile phone from a hedgerow near to the last sighting of the suspects, and Stevens was later arrested and charged. READ MORE: Midlands drug dealer's jet-setting lifestyle brought crashing down by police raid Stevens, from Bentilee, pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle dangerously, driving whilst disqualified and aggravated vehicle taking in relation to the incident on June 25. He was jailed for 19 months at Stoke-on-Trent-Crown Court on Tuesday, October 28. Following the sentencing, PC Thomas Cordall, from Staffordshire Police's Road Crime Team, said: “We welcome this sentence. "Not only did Stevens fail to stop for our officers, he drove at dangerous speeds, carried out dangerous manoeuvres that meant other motorists had to take evasive action, crashed and then ran off to avoid justice. All this after taking a vehicle without consent."
