by Alice Scarsi
Reckless driver who made sparks fly from caravan receives suspended sentence
A reckless unlicensed van driver who stole a caravan and drove at dangerous speeds to evade the law has avoided a prison sentence following appearing in court.
Scott Vice, 24, from Cardiff, literally made sparks fly during a police chase in September last year, following an eagle-eyed driver noticing the erratic speed at which Vice was travelling.
Police took action to avoid serious injury to other road users when in pursuit of Vice, who drove carelessly throughout the pursuit, including around a roundabout the wrong way and was only stopped when armed police formed a barricade, putting an end to Vice’s escape plan.
Judge Thomas Crowther QC, sitting at Merthyr Crown Court in Wales, sentenced Vice to six months imprisonment, suspended the sentence for two years with twelve months supervision.
Additionally, Vice will have to complete 120 hours unpaid work and has been disqualified from driving for 18 months and, of course, until he passes the extended retest.
Judge Crowther told Vice: “There was a large deployment of officers at a great deal of public expense. You were plainly enjoying yourself.
“You told the probation officer that you were not the brightest spark in the fire and I’m afraid you proved it on what you did on that night”.
What do you think of this sentence? Was the judge’s decision fair or do you think the sentence should have been heavier?
