High speed police pursuit tears through Coventry streets

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The chase began in Statford and wound up in Walsgrave



This is moment a high speed police pursuit ended in a residential street after the driver was floored by a white van man.

Martin Bates, owner of Coventry Man with a Van, and his friend Thomas Snowdon were driving along Woodway Lane, Walsgrave, when they happened to stop a wanted man in his tracks.

Footage from Martin's dashcam shows a swarm of cars barrelling towards them in pursuit of a man that they had followed from Stratford.

The pursuit was part of the force's Operation Trivium which aims to catch wanted criminals travelling on the region's road network.

Mr Bates told the Telegraph: “We could see the police helicopter was really close to us, so we turned towards it to see what was going on, being a bit nosey.

“Then all these police cars suddenly came towards us and I was with my mate and we saw this guy running towards us.

“So I shouted at Thomas to get out and stop him, and the guy got floored and then arrested.

“It just seemed like police couldn’t get him and it was a lot of drama.”

The suspect was taken in to custody by officers at around 10.30am this morning.

The police pursuit had started earlier in the day in Stratford when a driver failed to stop for officers from Warwickshire Police taking part in Operation Trivium.

The operation is the force’s crack down on foreign national offenders using roads for criminal activity.

The car was pursued from the south Warwickshire town all the way to Coventry, and one eyewitness reported seeing six police cars, a police motorcycle, two unmarked cars and the police helicopter in the Walsgrave area.

Police cars were also heard racing along the city centre ring road with sirens blaring on their way to the location.

Sergeant Jem Mountford of Warwickshire Police: “This will be our eighth time we have run Operation Trivium, and it has been a successful deterrent.

“There is an assumption that foreign nationals who commit crime in the United Kingdom are invincible, and that the road network is an easy way to facilitate such criminal activity.

“It is week-long operations like this that demonstrate our commitment to cross-border policing and partnership working to show that borders are no barrier to justice.”

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Have-a-go hero van man's vehicle vandalised after releasing dashcam footage of police chase



A have-a-go hero who helped apprehend a suspected criminal on the run has now been targeted by mindless vandals calling him a “grass”.

Martin Bates, owner of Coventry Man with a Van, was left horrified after discovering late last night that the tyres of his van were slashed and the words ‘grass’ spray painted onto the side of the vehicle.

Earlier in the day, Martin and his friend Thomas Snowdon helped stop a man on the run from police following a high speed chase from Stratford to Coventry.

The delivery driver has now been left hurt and confused as to why someone would damage his property.

“I am extremely disappointed in people this day and age,” he told the Telegraph.

“Four tyres been popped and vandalism on the side off my van. I don’t understand how grass suits this situation?”

“We have not grassed anyone up,” Martin added.

“We simply stopped someone in their tracks who was wanted. We didn’t know what the person was wanted for!

“For all we know he could have been a terrorist by the amount of police cars and the helicopter after him.
“We were just doing our bit for society and helping out the people who help us every day.”

A JustGiving page has now been set up to help cover the cost of repairs to Martin's van. He will be out of work until the wheels are replaced. You can donate here.

West Midlands Police has been contacted for comment.

• Jordan Bench, 22, of Durbar Avenue, Coventry, has been charged with five driving offences.

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Man admits taking cops on high-speed chase from Stratford to Coventry

A man who took police on a high-speed chase from Stratford to Coventry has admitted a string of offences.

Jordan Bench was finally stopped when two white van men helped take him to the floor after ditching his car in Woodway Lane, Walsgrave.

The moments before the dramatic takedown were captured on the van’s dashcam and Bench, 22, can be seen running away from officers along the street.

He was arrested and charged with five offences, including dangerous driving and failing to stop for police after the pursuit on Thursday, May 18.

Bench, of Durbar Avenue, Foleshill, appeared at Warwickshire Magistrates’ Court this morning where he pleaded guilty to those charges and also others of theft, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.

He will now be sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on June 30.

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Yob who led police on high-speed chase fails to show for sentence



A man who led police on a high-speed chase before being floored by two white van men in Coventry failed to show at court today.

Jordan Bench, 22, was due to appear at Warwick Crown Court to learn his fate after pleading guilty to a number offences including dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.

However, Bench didn’t show and a warrant was made for his arrest.

Rebecca Austin, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that Bench, of Durbar Avenue, Foleshill, had “failed to present himself” to the court and made the application for an arrest warrant.

Sean Logan, representing Bench, stated it was “difficult to resist” the warrant application, which was immediately granted by His Honour Judge Andrew Lockhart QC.

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“failed to present himself”

What did they really expect?

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Coventry yob took cops on high-speed chase with son, 3, in car is locked up

It emerged in court that Mr Bench had been disqualified from driving just days before the pursuit having gained six points on his newly obtained licence for a careless driving offence.

He was originally due to be sentenced on July 3 after pleading guilty to five offences, but he failed to turn up at court for the hearing. He was arrested four weeks later for skipping bail and a new sentencing hearing was set .

Judge Bond, who heard how Bench’s three-year-old son was not in a car seat, said the case was in “the worst category of dangerous driving”.

Sentencing Bench to 14 months in prison, and disqualifying him from driving for two years and seven months, he told him: “If you had been in a crash you would have had to live with an offence of death by dangerous driving and that you would have killed your three-year-old son.”

Handing Bench a 14-month stretch, Judge Bond said: “Only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.

“You’re 22, you have a previous conviction for careless driving. You have never been to custody before.”

Bench’s 14-month sentence was made up of one month for the petrol theft, one month for skipping bail and 12 months imprisonment for dangerous driving.

He was also given a two years seven months driving disqualification with the need for an extended retest before the end of the disqualification.