Disqualified Leeds driver led police on 'shocking' chase after his late dad's motorbike was stolen

Declan Brady, 31, drove the wrong way down carriageways, through red lights, across central reservations and reached speeds of up to 70mph in residential areas. A judge at Leeds Crown Court said his dangerous driving was “as bad as it gets”.

The court heard the defendant had recently lost his father and was cleaning his motorcycle when youths came up to him, brandished a knife and stole the bike. He later heard the motorbike had been spotted in Halton Moor and jumped into his father’s van to find it - despite being disqualified from driving.

Police sighted the Ford Transit van in Cartmell Drive just before 10.30pm on July 15 last year. Brady failed to stop for officers and accelerated away towards Halton Moor Avenue, and a police pursuit began.

During the chase, which lasted about 10 minutes, the defendant reached speeds of more than 60mph in 30mph zones, dangerously overtook vehicles and swerved across lanes. The officers chasing Brady said he braked multiple times and they believed he was trying to ‘reverse ram’ them.

Prosecuting, Mark Thompson said: “This is a case involving prolonged bad driving, excessive speed, the police pursuit and - in the officers’ evidence - the reverse ram attempt on them, travelling through a stop side, traversing through the carriageways in the wrong direction and crossing over central reservations.”

Brady eventually abandoned the van on Thornes Farm Way and was arrested. The defendant, of Stainbeck Road, Leeds, was charged with dangerous driving and driving while disqualified. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at the earliest opportunity, and pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified on the day a trial was due to begin.

Brady has three previous convictions for seven offences, including dangerous driving.

Mitigating, Jane Cooper said that Brady’s father had died of Covid in “tragic circumstances” and his funeral had just taken place when the motorbike was robbed and he carried out the offences. “The circumstances are extremely unfortunate,” Ms Cooper added. "The impact on the defendant was devastating”.

Judge Neil Clark said the defendant's driving was “truly shocking” and “as bad as it gets”. Brady was jailed for 12 months and disqualified from driving for a further six months.