Five people including two children were injured when a driver failed to stop for the police.



Jaymie Woods was taking family members to visit a relative who was seriously ill in hospital when he ended up being pursued by police.

Woods panicked, put his foot down and the car ended up crashing into a ditch.

Woods, aged 20, of Heathway Avenue, Layton, pleaded guilty to driving dangerously without insurance or a licence.

He was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 weeks with up to 30 days rehabilitation to be supervised by the probation service, ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work for the community, banned from driving for two years and told to pay £85 costs with £80 victims' surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Prosecutor, Malcolm Isherwood, said on January 24 at 9.15pm police saw Woods speeding in a Ford Focus on Liverpool Road North, Burscough, near Ormskirk.

Police put on their vehicle's lights and sirens but Woods would not stop. He accelerated and on a bend crashed into a ditch.

Woods suffered whiplash injuries as did a woman passenger and a male passenger aggravated a previous shoulder complaint. The two children, aged six and seven, were also injured with one suffering whiplash and a cut forehead and the other child grazing and bruising.

Steven Townley, defending, said the family received information their grandfather was very ill in hospital. Woods had been previously been disqualified from driving and his ban had ended, but he had not reapplied for his licence.

Mr Townley said: "When the police officer came up behind him he panicked. It was momentary poor driving. It only lasted for seconds. The car has now been scrapped."