A semi-professional footballer from Leeds has been jailed for four years after his powerful BMW was seized and its onboard computer revealed he had driven at speeds of up to 191mph on multiple occasions.
Connor Charlton, 32, of Hunslet, Leeds, pleaded guilty to ten counts of dangerous driving and four counts of perverting the course of justice at Leeds Crown Court. He was also banned from driving for four years and seven months.
The court heard that West Yorkshire Police first became aware of Charlton's reckless behaviour after videos emerged on social media in 2023. Following a collision on South Accommodation Road in Leeds in September 2023 involving Charlton, officers seized his BMW X3M Competition and extracted data from its onboard computer.
Computer data reveals extreme speeds
The data revealed the vehicle had been driven at speeds of 160mph, 157mph, 107mph, 191mph, 161mph, 186mph, 110mph and 175mph. These speeds were recorded on the M1, M62 and A1(M) in West Yorkshire, as well as on other unidentified roads.
Charlton was arrested in November 2023 and gave a no-comment interview under questioning. As the investigation progressed, a number of videos came to light showing Charlton behind the wheel engaging in highly dangerous driving.
In footage shown to the court, he could be seen weaving between vehicles before hitting speeds of 160mph, accompanied by a caption reading "Wow" alongside a smug and laughing emoji. A separate clip, captioned "UK No.1", captured him accelerating from a red light to 157mph, with the engine audibly roaring throughout.
Penalty points scam uncovered
It also came to light that Charlton had been in contact with other drivers, arranging for them to accept speeding penalty points on his behalf in exchange for £250. A note found on his mobile phone contained a fabricated account of the crash, falsely placing the blame on another driver who had allegedly fled the scene.
In one particularly chilling clip, a person can be heard saying "woah woah woah" before dissolving into laughter as Charlton cuts in front of a white van, nearly causing a serious collision.
According to the club's website, Charlton plays as a striker for Nostell Miners Welfare FC in the Northern Counties East Football League.
Sentencing and mitigation
In mitigation, Charles Blatchford described Charlton's driving offences as "24 months of madness", pointing out that he had no prior or subsequent involvement in similar criminal behaviour. He drew attention to numerous character references praising Charlton's positive contributions to young footballers within the community.
Mr Blatchford further noted that Charlton's son had been diagnosed with autism, cautioning that a custodial sentence could prove deeply damaging to the child. However, Judge Kate Rayfield stressed that while he might expect imprisonment for a single count of perverting the course of justice, he was in fact facing four counts alongside 10 charges of exceptionally dangerous driving.
