Teen jailed over CCTV car chase drama

11:27am Monday 12th February 2007

A TEENAGER caught almost three times the drink drive limit after taking his mum's car has been jailed for 15 months.

Andrew Fodey was stopped on Christmas Eve after driving dangerously through a town centre in the Nissan Almera.

The 18-year-old, who does not have a licence and has not even taken a lesson, was less than five weeks into a suspended jail sentence when he was arrested.

Ian Halliday, prosecuting, told Swindon crown court the police were called by CCTV operators in Warminster shortly after midnight on December 24.

They had seen the car being driven about so officers went to the Market Place and soon after spotted the car and gave chase.

The car raced down Weymouth Street and before turning on to Sambourne Road then on to West Parade with the officers in pursuit.

After finding himself blocked in Fodey managed to get past but hit two parked BMW cars as he squeezed past the police car.

After going the wrong way round keep left bollards the car sped along High Street and Boreham Road doing 80mph in residential roads on to Bishopstrow Road.

However the car came to a halt and then reversed into one of the chasing police cars.

Mr Halliday said it later turned out that Fodey was having problems with the gears and hadn't meant to reverse.

When he was arrested he was found to have 93 micrograms of alcohol in 100 milligrams of breath, the legal limit is 35 micrograms.

He told police that after drinking heavily he decided to take the car into Warminster to do a few laps'.

Fodey, formerly of Braemor Road, Calne, but now of Alcock Crescent, Warminster, admitted drink driving, driving with no licence, no insurance and aggravated taking without consent.

He had been put on a one year suspended sentence in November after admitting a string of break-ins across Calne and biting a store detective who caught him stealing alcohol.

He burgled two houses, tried to break into another and also targeted a social club in a crime spree in autumn last year.

As well as the suspended sentence he was put on a 7pm to 7am curfew, which he was breaking by being out in the car, and had not turned up at probation.

Jonathan Simpson, defending, said his client had turned to drink and drugs as a 12-year-old after his parents' marriage broke down.

An earlier hearing was told he had a poor start in life turning to drink and drugs at the age of 12 years moving on to ecstasy and cocaine two years later.

He has also been diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but did not take the medication because of the side effects.

He has 29 previous convictions including one for assaulting another store detective and failed on a community order imposed in September.

Jailing him Judge Sean Overend said "You have a supportive family but they must have had sleepless nights ever since you were 12 and went completely off the rails."

He also banned him from the road for three years and ordered he take an extended retest before he gets his licence.