A banned driver’s claim that he was charitably driving a ‘drunk female acquaintance’s' Audi because she was unable to do it herself was branded ‘pretty far fetched’.

Morgan Scott was first jailed for dangerous driving in 2020, when he led police on a 35-mile chase around Swindon.

The 23-year-old spent a torrid few months behind bars, seeing a friend killed and being stabbed himself.

In January, he was behind the wheel of an Audi TT sports car on the A361 near Shipton-under-Wychwood, West Oxfordshire, when he saw a police car illuminate its blue lights.

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Knowing he was still banned from driving, he took off rather than stop for the police.

The ensuing chase lasted seven minutes and saw Scott take a blind bend on the wrong-side of the road and hit speeds of 85 on national speed limit roads.

The pursuit only came to an end when the Audi smashed into a wall and Scott tried to run away on foot. On his arrest, he was found to have a small amount of cocaine on him.

A sergeant who chased the driver down earned the commendation of Recorder John Bate-Williams, who sentenced the dangerous driver at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday (March 14).

Scott told the police that the car belonged to a female acquaintance, who had been unable to drive it as she was drunk.

“I would say that sounds pretty far-fetched to me,” Recorder Bate-Williams said on Tuesday.

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Jailing him for 14 months, the judge told Scott: “This was a prolonged period of dangerous driving. You were travelling at excessive speeds while being pursued by the police.

“You showed a deliberate disregard for the roles of the road and the safety of others.”

Prosecuting, Marcia Hagon said Scott had previously been convicted of serious driving offences.

In 2020, he received a nine month prison sentence for dangerous driving, having led police on a 35-mile trip around Swindon and the surrounding countryside. He was subsequently convicted of driving while disqualified.  

In mitigation, Scott was said to want help for his problems with drugs. He suffered from anxiety and depression. The court heard his partner had given birth to their firstborn relatively recently.

While in prison for the Swindon offence he was stabbed and a friend was killed, the court heard. It was suggested that the experiences had left him with PTSD.

Scott, of Gassons Way, Lechlade, admitted dangerous driving, disqualified driving, driving without insurance and possession of cocaine at the magistrates' court.

He was banned from driving for two years and ordered to take an extended retest.

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