A dangerous driver who was jailed for 14 months called the judge an ‘absolute helmet’ before sarcastically thanking him for the sentence, and could now be looking at extra time added onto his sentence.
Levi Cull appeared via video link at Bolton Crown Court yesterday (8 June), where he pleaded guilty to numerous offences in relation to crashing a car.
Laying out what happened on the day of his arrest, prosecution barrister Harriet Lavin told the court that 25-year-old Cull had been spotted by a police officer in Bolton at around 2.30pm on 21 March and attempted to duck his head before turning down a side-street.
This led to a short chase, during which Cull drove a Mercedes at 60ph on the wrong side of the road, went straight through a red light and drove across a busy junction without stopping, the Manchester Evening News reports.
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Cull then crashed, sending the car he had hit hurtling into a parked vehicle. The chase came to an end after Cull hit a fence before slamming into another car and flipping the car onto its roof.
Incredibly, Cull did not sustain any serious injuries in the incident.
In court, Cull, who has 10 prior convictions for 26 offences, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.
In mitigation, lawyer Nick Ross told the court: "The defendant has recognised that he has a lot of growing up to do. He holds his hands up."
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He went on: “Of course, the consequences were dramatic but fortunately, and clearly by dint of remarkable good fortune, there were no serious consequences in terms of injury or worse.
“He understands this could have ended in catastrophic and tragic circumstances and he is a very lucky young man that he is not before the court for much more serious offences.”
In sentencing, the Honorary Recorder of Bolton Judge Martin Walsh jailed Cull for 14 months and slapped him with a three-year driving ban.
After the sentence was handed out, Cull said: "Thank you very much you absolute helmet. In a bit, mate."
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As you can probably imagine, the judge wasn’t impressed with this response, and indicated that Cull will be hauled before the court once again for contempt of court over his outburst – meaning that his 14-month sentence could well be getting longer.
Claire Reid