Driver jailed after police pursuit ends with crash in country lane near Corby

A driver who tried to outrun Northamptonshire Police Interceptors and a police dog in a cross-country pursuit in January has been jailed for seven months.

Lee Roy Holland criss-crossed the north of the county in an Audi using the A6, A427 and A6003 in and around Corby, plus a number of back, roads before ramming the police Skoda and crashing in a snow-covered country lane.

He was tracked using Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and finally arrested following a foot chase across muddy fields which ended by Police Dog Walt cornering the runaway driver.

Holland, aged 45 and formerly of Desborough, was sent to prison for seven months and will face a 15-month driving ban when he gets out after appearing at Northampton Crown Court charged with dangerous driving and no insurance.

Reports at the time revealed how more officers had listened in to the dramatic chase via police radios back at HQ and admitted it underlined the value of investments in the Interceptor squad and ANPR cameras.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said: "This was an ANPR-initiated job from a brand new camera installed with the help of funding last year from the Chief Constable and Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

"It's amazing what a difference it makes if the right kit and equipment is put in place. An Astra wouldn't have kept up with the subject vehicle especially on the back roads.

"The commentary sounded calm and professional throughout and it was good to hear, although there was very minor damage to the police vehicle, there were no injuries to anyone involved."

This newspaper reported in August how the ANPR network has formed a 'ring of steel' around the county, bringing 340 arrests in its first eight months.

ANPR reads registrations of passing vehicles and checks across several databases, raising the alert if a vehicle is stolen or linked to crime.

Last year's £1.3m investment bringing 150 cameras online achieved significant results with 340 arrests made, 627 vehicle seizures, 310 intelligence-led searches, and 1,026 traffic offences identified by August.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley added: “Without their capability, many of the arrests we have made here simply would not have happened and others would have taken hours and hours of time and resource, not to mention lengthy and anxious waits for the victims.

“Increasing our ANPR capability has not only enabled us to put a ring of steel around the county to prevent and detect crime, but it also enables us to better protect vulnerable people. I look forward to more good results.”