Man who stole a car and drove dangerously jailed

A man who stole a car in Stoke-on-Trent and wrote-off a taxi has been jailed for two years.

Daniel Hodgkinson, aged 37, of Norton, Stoke-on-Trent, threw a glass bottle through the window of a house on Knypersley Road, Norton, on 3 April this year. He went inside, took the keys to a black Peugeot parked on the drive and then drove away.

Just before, he had tried to force a woman out of her car whilst she was parked at a set of traffic lights on Knypersley Road. He was holding a bottle of vodka.

When he took the Peugeot, he reversed into a taxi on Chell Heath Road, Chell, and was seen driving erratically, constantly changing direction and using the pavement to perform a U-turn.

When officers found the vehicle, the number plate was barely attached.

Hodgkinson was approached by officers at the junction of Cumberbatch Avenue and Hambro Place, Fegg Hayes. He tried to escape but ran into a police car before being put in handcuffs. He swung a screwdriver at one of the officers whilst being arrested but didn’t cause any serious injury.

At Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Thursday (20 June), he was sentenced to two-years imprisonment after admitting burglary, theft, criminal damage, driving a motor vehicle dangerously, possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, failing to provide a specimen for analysis, failing to stop after a road accident and driving a motor vehicle without third party insurance.

Detective Inspector Nathan Hough works in our Criminal Investigations Department. He said: “Hodgkinson’s reckless actions on 3 April put many people’s lives in danger and caused a great deal of distress to people in the area.

“I’m pleased that we were able to stop him before something worse happened and protect members of the local community.”