Orford man crashed friend's car and it set on fire

Mark Taylor, of Dovedale Close in Orford, was sentenced to 12 months in prison and given a two-year driving ban following his hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, December 8.

The court heard that Taylor, 36, went bowling with friends, including Anthony Knock, on November 8.

Taylor had been friends with Mr Knock for some 20 years.

Taylor stole the car on November 8, before crashing it through a wooden fence (Image: Cheshire Police)

On the day, Mr Knock saw Taylor 'inhaling white powder' before going into the bowling alley.

At 5.30pm, Taylor asked for Mr Knock’s car keys, as he said he had left his mobile phone on the backseat.

Five minutes passed and Taylor was nowhere to be seen; Mr Knock went to the car park to find that his car, a VW Beetle, was no longer there.

Mr Knock tried calling Taylor, but it went to voicemail - he then rang the police.

After making the call, Mr Knock saw Taylor drive past in the Beetle at 'excessive speed' and with what ‘sounded like a flat tyre.’

An officer attended at 6.45pm and took Mr Knock’s statement, before heading to Alder Lane to conduct an area search, and they spotted the Beetle driving toward Hollins Lane.

The officer indicated that the Beetle should pull over, but it continued and Taylor opened the window and waved for the officer to overtake him.

Eventually the Beetle stopped in the middle of the road – when the officer approached the car and told the defendant to pull over on the lefthand side of the road, Taylor said: “You’re not going to nick me are you?

“I only took my mate’s car for a spin.”

The car later drove from Newton Road to Winwick Road, where the officer noted it drove through a red light – the officer then returned to Mr Knock to gain more information.

At 7.40pm, another officer was advised to attend the area where the Beetle was likely to be.

The Beetle was seen on Northway – the officer activated his blue lights and siren, and the Beetle continued.

A car chase ensued, with the Beetle clocking speeds of up to 60mph in a 20mph zone.

On Long Lane, travelling at 52mph, one of the tyres on the Beetle ‘disintegrated’ and the car was left to drive on its alloy, with sparks flying.

At a roundabout near Orford Green Road, the Beetle was driven the wrong way around a roundabout.

Taylor drove the car onto a grass verge, and lost control as the car crashed through a wooden barrier.

There was smoke and a flash of flame, before Taylor clambered out of the driver’s side window.

He was tackled and arrested by officers.

The Beetle was on fire by this point, and another officer was called for assistance – the fire eventually spread to nearby trees.

Taylor was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

At 8.40pm, Taylor was subjected to a roadside alcohol breath test, and tested positive for 63mg of alcohol, and was then taken to police custody.

Taylor then refused to provide officers with a further sample of breath.

The court heard Taylor declined to answer questions during his police interview.

When the court was shown the police dashcam footage of the car chase, Taylor – appearing via video link – had his head in his hands.

Mr Simon Leyong, prosecuting, listed Taylor’s history of previous offences – which included motoring offences committed when he was a juvenile.

He also has past convictions of shoplifting, drunk and disorderly, criminal damage, assaulting emergency workers, battery, and racially-aggravated public order offences.

Mr Leyong added that Taylor took the ‘deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road’ and that he used ‘highly dangerous manoeuvres.’

The prosecution also highlighted that there was a ‘suggestion [Taylor was] under the influence of alcohol or drugs.’

Defending Taylor was Zahra Baqri, who told Judge Jack McGarva that Taylor should be given full credit for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.

She added that Taylor explained he had ‘taken cocaine and felt the urgent need to get away.’

The defendant was recently made homeless and had struggled with his parents’ recent diagnosis of cancer.

Taylor was also wanted for failing to attend probation meetings – something the defence explained was due to Taylor getting a new probation officer, which led Taylor to believe he did not need to attend the meetings, the court heard.

The defendant knew he was a wanted man, and he ‘panicked.’

Ms Baqri said: “[Taylor] accepts his driving was disgraceful, and - but for good fortune - nobody was hurt.

“He is now 36, and should know better, but his substance abuse sees him fail time and time again.

“His last driving conviction was over 20 years ago.”

One resident posted a video of the incident on social media.

Warning: there is inappropriate language in the video below.

@vindawg6969 #fyp #warrington ♬ original sound - 💯

The court heard that Taylor has dependents, including two teenage children, as well as his brother, who has autism.

Ms Baqri added that Taylor’s absence ‘caused immense distress because of the help he gives.’

Judge McGarva, sentencing, said: “I bear in mind any sentence passed on your family.

“We have seen the footage of your driving, which speaks very powerfully about what a shocking incident this was.

“[This] all ended when you collided with a fence and tried to escape.”

Judge McGarva acknowledged Taylor was ‘under the influence of drinking and drugs at the time.’

Mark Taylor was sentenced to 12 months in prison, and banned from driving for two years – he will need to pas an extended driving test before earning the right to drive.