Disqualified Driver Caught Red Handed

A disqualified driver who was caught red handed by the force's Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) has been jailed.

Jamie Ault, 34, caught the attention of officers whilst driving in Doddington on 22 September last year.

At about 4.15pm, rural crime officers were on patrol, driving along Benwick Road, when they noticed Ault driving a silver Nissan Qashqai at high speed.

Officers flashed their headlights and made a hand gesture, signalling for Ault to slow down. However, as the two vehicles passed each other, officers noticed that the car was not slowing, Ault was not wearing a seatbelt and there was a young boy in the passenger seat.

As a result, officers turned their car around and attempted to catch up with Ault's Nissan. However, the high speed continued and officers were driving in excess of 110mph just to keep up.

As officers came to a bend, they lost sight of Ault. However, when they slowed down, an officer in the passenger seat saw that Ault had driven his car off of the main road and had parked behind a shed in an attempt to evade police.

They then saw Ault drive from behind the shed, off a dirt track, and back onto the road.

At this point, officers accelerated to catch up with him and this time, they successfully boxed him in, forcing him to stop.

When officers got out of the car to speak to Ault, they saw him frantically trying to put his seatbelt on.

Ault was detained and roadside checks revealed that he was disqualified from driving and uninsured to drive the vehicle.

The boy in the passenger seat was found to be unharmed and Ault was summonsed to appear at Peterborough Magistrates' Court on 5 December.

However, Ault failed to attend court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Ault, of Paddock Road, Kettering, was eventually caught by officers in Kettering on 15 August, while continuing to drive a car with no insurance and whilst disqualified.

At Northampton Magistrates' Court Ault pleaded guilty to two counts of driving whilst disqualified, two counts of driving without insurance and driving without a seatbelt.

He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

DC Tom Nuttall said: "Ault attempted to evade police but was caught red handed by RCAT.

"He stopped at no end to avoid justice by failing to appear at court and I hope the sentence gives him time to reflect on his actions.

"We will continue to work tirelessly to take dangerous drivers off the roads of Cambridgeshire."