Kyle Holt (Image: North Wales Police)
Last Updated: 2 minutes ago
A judge described it as “miraculous” that nobody was hurt or killed after a disqualified driver led officers on a 14-minute pursuit through several communities in north-east Wales, reaching almost 100mph.
Kyle Holt, 26, of Gerald Street, Wrexham, has been jailed for 12 months at Mold Crown Court.
Sentencing
Judge Rhys Rowlands said: “This is a particularly bad piece of driving over a very lengthy period of time, with lots of individuals being placed at risk by your driving.
“It was miraculous that nobody was hurt if not killed.”
Holt was disqualified from driving for 46 months and must pass an extended test before getting behind the wheel again. A statutory surcharge was also applied.
The chase
On October 4 last year, at around 3.50pm, a police officer in a marked police vehicle was travelling along the A483 towards Oswestry when he spotted a Ford Fiesta driven by Holt, which was flagged as uninsured.
The officer signalled for the car to stop but Holt accelerated away with a female passenger on board, triggering a pursuit lasting around 14 minutes – all captured on police camera.
Prosecutor Dafydd Roberts told the court Holt reached 98mph in a 60mph zone and 55mph through a 30mph area. He forced his way past other vehicles, overtook approaching the brow of a hill and on blind bends, drove through red lights and went the wrong way round a roundabout.
The pursuit passed through Ruabon, Erbistock, towards Bangor-on-Dee and on to Cross Lanes, where officers deployed a stinger device at traffic lights in an attempt to deflate the tyres.
Mr Roberts described the chase as “prolonged, deliberate and persistent” with “highly dangerous manoeuvres.”
How it ended
At Cross Lanes, Holt reversed into the police car before setting off again and briefly losing control. He then drove back towards the police vehicle and went the wrong way round a roundabout.
He eventually drove at speed into a private farm, hitting the gate, before attempting to flee on foot. He was arrested shortly afterwards and found to be over the legal limit for cannabis.
Previous convictions
The court heard Holt had been disqualified from driving by magistrates just a month before the offences, after being convicted of being in charge of a motor vehicle while over the prescribed level of drugs – a ban Judge Rowlands said he had simply ignored.
He also had previous convictions for arson in 2016 and burglary in 2017.
Defence arguments
Amy Edwards, defending, said Holt had entered an early guilty plea and accepted his behaviour “was completely unacceptable.” She told the court he had recently lost his job and a relationship had ended, which saw his offending resume after a gap.
Ms Edwards said Holt had never previously been in prison. A pre-sentence report raised issues about his childhood – he had used cannabis since the age of nine, was diagnosed with depression at 12 and had “self-medicated” with cannabis. He had also been diagnosed with ADHD and autism.
She said probation reports highlighted a need to address his behaviour and suggested he could be dealt with by a community punishment with relevant activities. However, Judge Rowlands disagreed, ruling the offences were so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.
Holt had admitted dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving whilst disqualified, failing to stop for police and drug driving.
