A banned driver has been jailed for 20 months after driving a stolen van the wrong way along a busy road before crashing into another car. David Mumford, 39, of Coton Road, Nuneaton, was pursued by police down the M6 northbound before turning the wrong way onto the A444 in Warwickshire and driving at high speed.
A police helicopter captured the moment he crashed into a car at a junction before trying to flee the scene. Mumford was found guilty at Warwick Crown Court on Tuesday of possession of cannabis, driving while disqualified and without insurance, and for receiving stolen goods.
The van he was driving, a Mercedes Sprinter, had been reported stolen to West Midlands Police on 21 August by a delivery driver in Coventry. On 3 September, Northamptonshire Police began pursuing the stolen vehicle, which was being driven with cloned plates. The pursuit crossed into Warwickshire, where Mumford drove in the wrong direction on the A444 carriageway.
Police abandoned the chase due to the risk of a head-on collision, but a helicopter continued to track the vehicle. Mumford hit another vehicle at speed after taking the junction into Newtown Road in Bedworth. He and a passenger fled on foot but were apprehended by officers. Inside the van was a motorbike, also reported stolen from Coventry.
The occupants of the vehicle Mumford crashed into were taken to hospital with minor injuries. PC Halfacree, from Bedworth Patrol Investigations Unit, said: 'It's a miracle that no-one was killed as a result of Mumford's reckless driving. Frankly, even a provisional license holder should know that driving the wrong way up a 70mph max road is a phenomenally bad idea.'
Mumford was also disqualified from driving for 45 months and until he passes an extended test.
