A 17-year-old who ploughed his Audi into a Summertown wall just weeks after driving down a dual-carriageway on fake police lights was labelled a ‘car crash waiting to happen’.

But Judge Michael Gledhill KC spared Jericho man Joshua Bullock – now aged 18 – an immediate prison sentence on Friday, saying that if breached his two year community order or was in trouble again, he faced a three-year custodial sentence.

He said the ‘crooks’ in a young offenders’ institution would be ‘no doubt very pleased to welcome a middle-class, educated boy’. “You can imagine what sort of time you’re going to have there,” the judge added.

Earlier, the judge told Bullock’s barrister that the teen was ‘a car crash waiting to happen’. “He was totally out of control.”

Oxford Crown Court heard that Bullock’s spree of offending began on September 30, when he made off without paying for £30-worth of petrol.

Two days later, on October 2, Bullock was behind the wheel of the same car – a Jaguar – on the A41. The vehicle had blue-and-red lights fitted in the front window, similar to those foundin on unmarked police cars.

Alex Radley, prosecuting, said the emergency-style lights were switched on and drove behind a Mini. The second car, in which there were two female students, pulled over – followed by Bullock’s vehicle.

Neither Bullock nor two young men in the car with him at the time, got out of the Jaguar. He drove away without speaking to the women.

On October 30, he was behind the wheel of his own Audi on the A44 near the Pear Tree Roundabout when he made off from a police car after officers tried to pull him over.

The two minute  chase saw the police hit almost 90mph down the Woodstock Road, which has a 30mph limit, in an attempt to keep up with the Audi.

The teenager undertook other cars, shot across a roundabout and went through at least one set of red lights before crashing into a wall at the junction with St Margaret’s Road.

Footage from the patrol car showed Bullock getting out his crashed Audi with his hands in the air.

In a prepared statement read to the officers interviewing him at Abingdon police station the day after the chase, Bullock claimed he made a ‘foolish mistake’ to fill up the Audi with petrol as he was selling the car.

“The second foolish thing I did was try and evade arrest. I’m very sorry for my mistake,” he added.

He pleaded guilty to the first set of offences at the magistrates’ court in April and was given an interim driving ban.

Within three weeks, he was seen on CCTV riding a motorcycle into the Westgate shopping centre car park.

The following day, police stopped him on the back of an electric scooter in nearby New Inn Hall Street. Found in his rucksack was a kitchen knife, which he said was to bleed his bike’s brakes, and a numberplate.

Mitigating, Kellie Enever said her client had been on a ‘self-destruct’ path at the age of 17. With the court case hanging over him, he completed his A-level coursework but was unable to do his exams – meaning he had failed the sixth form qualifications. He was now doing well at college.

Bullock, of Observatory Street, Oxford, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court to 15 charges, including dangerous driving, impersonating a police officer, disqualified driving, driving without insurance or a valid licence, possession of the knife, and possession of a fraudulent plate.

The judge ordered the teen abide by a curfew, wear a GPS tag for 120 days, complete 120 hours of unpaid work and up to 45 rehabilitation days as part of his two-year community order.

He was banned from driving for three years and must pass an extended retest.

“You are a very lucky man indeed, and I don’t want to see you ever again. Don’t let yourself down, don’t let your parents down and don’t let me down. Grow up,” Judge Gledhill said.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward