Man from Little Blakenham, near Ipswich, jailed after crashing car into hedge despite driving ban

A 20-year-old man has been jailed for more than three years after crashing his car into a hedge despite having a driving ban.

Thomas Gillingham, of Somersham Road, Little Blakenham, appeared before Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced to 42 weeks’ imprisonment.

He will remain disqualified from driving until 2028.

Gillingham had pleaded guilty to the following six offences: two counts of driving whilst disqualified; two counts of driving without insurance; one count of driving without due care and attention; and one count of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver.

He had previously appeared before magistrates on November 7, where he was given a 22-week prison sentence suspended for 24 months.

Gillingham was also disqualified from driving until November 2028. This followed convictions for driving while disqualified and driving without due care and attention.

PC Tom Ives, from the Roads and Armed Policing Team, welcomed the court’s decision to send Gillingham to prison.

He said: “I hope this sends a message to other motorists who are thinking of driving whilst subject to a court-imposed driving ban.

“By taking motorists such as Gillingham off the roads, we are continuing with our efforts to ensure that the roads in Suffolk are safe for everyone to use legally.”

The first of the recent offences was on January 5 where Gillingham purchased a Volkswagen Eos online and travelled to the Telford area of Shropshire to collect it, leaving another car behind which was then collected at a later date.

Five days later, at around 10.05pm, a marked roads policing vehicle passed the VW Eos being driven by Gillingham on Defoe Road, in Ipswich, and he immediately sought to avoid any sort of encounter with police, driving off at speed in the opposite direction.

At just before 10.15pm, the car was located a short distance away in Whitton Church Lane, where it had crashed into a hedge on a left-hand bend.

Gillingham had fled the scene.

After vehicle checks showed Gillingham to be the registered owner of the car, an officer went straight to his nearby home address to await his return.

At 10.38pm, the officer rang the doorbell camera and spoke to Gillingham through its communication function.

Gillingham claimed to be at a public house in Leiston, and as the background noise was consistent with someone being in a pub, the officer then went to the nearest pub to where the collision occurred, which was approximately one mile away in Palmcroft Road.

As the officer entered the pub at 10.47pm, they spotted a man immediately begin to walk towards the door, before then running outside.

The officer chased after him and quickly caught and detained Gillingham.

He was taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre for questioning, where he denied he had been driving the car at the time of the collision.

He was released on bail and given 28 days to provide the details of who was driving the car if it wasn’t him.

He was rearrested on Monday having failed to provide the details of an alternative driver on the night of the January 10 and also in connection with the matters in Shropshire.

He was subsequently charged with the offences as detailed above and remanded to appear at court the following day.

Gillingham was also ordered to pay £239 in costs and surcharges.