Driver high on cannabis hid in bin after police chase around Castleford

A motorist without a licence and high on cannabis led police on a chase around Castleford, overtaking on blind bends, travelling on a roundabout the wrong way and running red lights, a court was told.
Leeds Combined Court centre.Leeds Combined Court centre.
Leeds Combined Court centre.

Unemployed fabricator Jordan Reece Hill eventually crashed his Ford Fiesta into another moving car on Wheldon Road, spinning the Fiesta around, before driving off again.

Leeds Crown Court heard how the 20-year-old then abandoned his car and ran off jumping over fences and through gardens to get away before hiding in a wheelie bin.

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But the police helicopter had been tracking Hill’s pursuit and officers on the ground easily located him in the bin.

Bashir Ahmed, prosecuting, told how officers had initially tried to stop Hill in his Fiesta at around 4pm on March 12 of this year as part of a routine check on the A162 near Brotherton, but after appearing to slow down, he drove off at speed.

The chase lasted for over half an hour, with Hill making several ‘lethal’ manoeuvres, and doing several laps of the Airedale estate in Castleford before smashing into the Vauxhall Astra.

Appearing in court, Hill, of Langdale Close, Castleford, admitted a charge of dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance, failing to stop, and driving while over the drug drive limit.

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A probation report read to the court said Hill had just bought the Fiesta and had taken a few driving lessons.

He had been cleaning it that morning and the temptation “got too much for him” and only intended to take it “round the block”.

Mitigating, Mark Foley said his client had suffered with anxiety and depression and had been forced to leave his job as a fabricator because of bullying.

Judge Neil Clark told him: “It’s not a full explanation as to why you let this become as dangerous as it did.” Hill was jailed for 12 months and given a three-year driving ban.