Thief ran amok after stealing test-drive car

Derby Crown Court heard last Tuesday how Carson jumped red traffic lights, took a left-hand bend too wide and drove on the wrong side of a road.

Carson, 27, was only caught when he parked the Honda Civic R outside Chesterfield Royal Hospital after a 20 minute drive on January 24.

The offence took place only ten weeks after magistrates gave him a suspended prison term for dangerous driving.

And Recorder Keith Raynor imposed a 23-month prison sentence and a four-year driving ban on Carson of Derby Road, Chesterfield, after he admitted theft of a car, driving dangerously, driving while banned and having no insurance.

Recorder Raynor told him: “You drove on the wrong side of the road and cars had to swerve. This was not the worst piece of dangerous driving but there was a serious risk to others and it could have led to more serious circumstances.”

Annette Thomas, mitigating, said Carson showed remorse when questioned by police.

She said: “He was struggling with substantial family problems but doesn’t seek to blame that. He was feeling depressed and lonely.”

The drive began in Holmewood and was partly tracked by a police helicopter.

Sarah Allen, prosecuting, said Carson visited a man who was selling the car and agreed to buy it but drove it away. The court heard how the car appeared to be heading for the M1. Carson’s previous dangerous driving offence was in a stolen BMW in which he refused to stop on police orders and struck three vehicles, according to the court.