Jail for banned driver after M8 police chase

Jun 19 2008 by Alastair McNeill

A BANNED Hamilton driver who led police on a hair-raising motorway chase as he tried to escape in a van while towing a caravan was this week jailed for three months.

Sheriff David Pender also banned William Murray, of Hillhouse, from driving for four years and ordered him to re-sit the extended test before getting back behind the wheel.

The 21-year-old had swerved from lane to lane on the M8 motorway in a bid to block pursuing patrol cars from catching him.

He had stolen the van from a builder’s yard in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, and drove it to a poultry farm in nearby Johnstone where he and others hitched up the caravan.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard that a farm worker spotted Murray and two others acting suspiciously and reported her concerns.

The owner of the poultry farm went to investigate, but arrived just as the van and caravan were being driven towards Glasgow on the M8.

When two pursuing police cars tried to pass and stop Murray, he swerved from side to side across the carriageway in an effort to prevent them from passing.

Murray eventually left the motorway and continued to drive along Glasgow’s Seaward Street, Milnpark Street, Admiral Street and Paisley Road West.

He mounted a footpath and entered a dead-end street and was cornered by officers.

Murray, of Hillhead Crescent, admitted the theft of the van and caravan, driving dangerously while disqualified and driving without insurance.

It had been stated that he had been acting with others whose identities were unknown.

His defence agent claimed Murray had been offered a financial inducement to get involved.

The accused was unemployed at the time and struggling financially, said the lawyer, and he took up the offer.

However, he pointed out that Murray had since found full-time employment.

Murray, he added, was a different person and regretted his involvement in the matter.

But Sheriff David Pender pointed out that, given the nature of the offences, in particular the dangerous driving charge, imprisonment was unavoidable.