Wigan car crash man had hidden blade

Police found the blade under the driver’s seat of a Ford Fiesta belonging to Harry Lockett, 20, after it crashed into a garden wall during a pursuit and he fled.

His solicitor Ged Frazer told Wigan justices Lockett had fallen in with the “wrong crowd” two years ago and been stabbed when he tried to break free. “Fearful” for his safety, he then got the knife.

Tess Kenyon, prosecuting, said officers in a liveried vehicle noticed the car with three men in, pulled alongside it when stationary and told the driver they wanted to speak. But Lockett drove off, with the police in pursuit into cul-de-sac Oak Avenue.

Ms Kenyon said the Fiesta came to a sudden stop when it hit a wall and the police car went into the back of it - though Mr Frazer claimed the Ford was pushed into the wall by the patrol vehicle. Three men got out of the car and ran in different directions. Officers chased the driver but lost sight of him.

But, they traced the registered owner and were talking to Lockett’s mother when he arrived home and spoke to the officers. Lockett was interviewed by police and said he had bought the car for £500, with plans to work on it and sell it for a profit.

Ms Kenyon said: “He said when he hit the wall, he panicked and ran off. He accepted he had no insurance for the car.”

Lockett, of Ashton Heath, Ashton, admitted to possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, driving without insurance and a licence, and failing to stop for police.

A probation officer told the court Lockett had dyspraxia and borderline ADHD, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder after being stabbed in the leg.

For knife possession, magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with 10 rehabilitation activity days and 200 hours’ unpaid work. Lockett was banned from driving for six months for being uninsured, but received no separate penalty for the other offences. He was told to pay £175 in costs and a surcharge.