Gavin Bird (Image: North Wales Police)
Last Updated: 38 seconds ago
A county lines drug dealer has been sentenced to 32 months in prison after he drove an Audi A3 directly at a police officer’s vehicle, forcing her to swerve onto the kerb to avoid a head-on collision.
Gavin Bird, 34, of St Giles Crescent, Caia Park, Wrexham, appeared at Mold Crown Court where he admitted supplying heroin and cocaine, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, and possession of cannabis.
The investigation
A joint operation between North Wales Police and Merseyside Police had identified Bird as part of a county lines network dealing drugs in the Caia Park area of Wrexham. Prosecutor Lewis Ball told the court a mobile phone number linked to Bird was being used to distribute “flare or bulk messages” advertising heroin and crack cocaine to users between December 2025 and February 2026.
Confrontation with police
Officers attended Bird’s home on February 19 to carry out a search but found he was not there. As they left the address and made their way towards Trevenna Way, they spotted Bird behind the wheel of an Audi A3.
Mr Ball said an officer described Bird as “driving at speed directly towards her vehicle, causing her to mount the kerb to avoid a head on collision.”
The car was later found abandoned in a nearby car park. Officers searching the area discovered Bird hiding underneath a different vehicle. Two mobile phones and a small quantity of cannabis were recovered from the Audi.
Previous offending
The court heard Bird had eight previous convictions spanning 12 offences, including aggravated vehicle taking during a police pursuit in which he crashed into a fence, driving without insurance, and a custodial sentence for burglary. He had also been disqualified from driving until July 2026 and had previously breached both suspended sentence and community order requirements.
A pre-sentence report assessed him as posing a medium risk of reoffending, with substance misuse, financial instability and criminal associations identified as driving factors.
Defence
Jade Tufail, defending, told the court Bird had entered early guilty pleas. She said financial pressures had contributed to his involvement in drug supply – he had accumulated a drug debt and had been trying to pay it off. Bird was now father to a 19-month-old baby and wanted to leave the area and turn his life around, Ms Tufail said.
Sentence
Judge Rhys Rowlands told Bird: “You drove straight at the police car, causing the driver to take evasive action.” He described Bird’s drug offending as “street level supply.”
Bird was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment with an extended 28-month driving ban to account for his time in custody. The court ordered forfeiture and destruction of the phone, and Bird must also pay a surcharge.
