Drunk driver who led police on 100mph chase through Northamptonshire in stolen van jailed

Denny Shury, aged 25, was above the alcohol limit when he stole a Vauxhall Astra van from St Leonards Road in Northampton

Northampton Crown Court heard Shury attempted to get away from police who spotted the stolen vehicle on the A509 near Kettering on the evening of September 6,2014.

Ben Gow, prosecuting, said Shury was driving “erratically” and carrying out dangerous overtaking manoeuvres that forced other road users on to the hard shoulder.

Shury drive the van at 80mph through a 40mph roadworks section and, at one point the vehicle reached a speed of 100mph. Police then used a stinger to deflate the tyres.

Mr Gow said Shury continued to drive the van on shredded tyres until he was forced to a standstill by a police patrol car.

When an officer opened the door of the vehicle to arrest him, Shury spat at him.

A breath test revealed he had 66 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Shury and James Stephenson, aged 26, the passenger in the van, both admitted a charge of aggravated vehicle taking.

Shury was also charged with driving whilst over the alcohol limit and without insurance.

Matthew Rowcliffe, mitigating for Stephenson, said his client had “genuinely feared for his own life” and had attempted to grab the steering wheel to stop Shury.

Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking QC said she accepted that Stephenson had “not bargained for a terrifying 100mph drive” but said he had known he was getting in to a stolen vehicle.

Shury, who also admitted a common assault and breach of a restraining order, was sentenced to a total of 16 months in prison. He was banned from driving for three years.

Stephenson, of Argyle Street, Northampton, was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. He must complete 240 hours unpaid work.