Man jailed after 80mph police chase in 30mph zone

A drink-driver who led police on a high-speed chase through North and East Yorkshire has been jailed.

Anthony Proctor, of West Lutton near Sledmere, was driving a white Vauxhall Astra van on 17 February, when police suspected he had been drinking.

The 44-year-old was first spotted speeding off from Norton, before he headed towards Driffield and sped through 30mph zones at 80mph. He was stopped and a breath test in custody found him to be two-and-a-half times the legal limit.

On Wednesday at York Crown Court, he was sentenced to nine months in prison, followed by a 15-month disqualification from driving.

North Yorkshire Police said Proctor had led the chase for about 20 miles (32km) and only stopped when the road ran out.

He was immediately arrested and returned a breath test reading of 93 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit in England is 35 micrograms.

The driver was also found to have an expired provisional licence.

The force said Proctor was asked if he would describe his driving as dangerous, to which he replied, "Yes, complete stupidity".

On 6 March, he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, drink driving and driving without a licence or insurance at Scarborough Magistrates' Court.

Traffic Sergeant Ryan Lyth, who led the pursuit, said: "Proctor made the dreadful decision to drive his vehicle while drunk – then compounded that by failing to stop when police tried to pull him over.

"Instead, he drove dangerously for more than 20 minutes before being caught and arrested."

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