Banned Hucknall driver desperate to see poorly daughter led cops on high-speed chase

Police spotted Daniel Ward as he ran red lights on Coxmoor Road and reached speeds of 70mph before turning towards Mansfield, just after 1am, on December 8, said prosecutor Esther Harrison.

He narrowly avoided colliding with another vehicle and drove through the grounds of the hospital before police forced his car into a pedestrian barrier.

Dashcam footage showed officers dragging Ward out of his car through the window.

It was a foggy night and there was a risk of ice on the roads, Ms Harrison added.

Nottingham Crown Court heard he has three previous convictions for four offences, including arson, in 2011, when he received a community order, and failing to provide a breath specimen, in 2019, which resulted in a 12-month driving ban.

Digby Johnson, mitigating, said the incident happened at a "quiet time of day" during a "grade-three lockdown."

"Had Mr Ward stopped and accepted that he hadn’t yet regained his licence, he would have received a relatively modest fine and some points on his licence" he said.

Instead, the self-employed builder was "potentially facing a prison cell for the first time in his life and that's hung over him since December 8."

Mr Johnson said that Ward "wasn't in a normal frame of mind" and "panicked."

At the time he was living in Hucknall and caring for his gravely-ill father when his partner, who lives in Rainworth, called to say their nine-month-old daughter had lost consciousness and she was taking her to A&E.

"He felt a desperate need to be there," Mr Johnson said. "He didn't think sensibly. The car he had prior to his ban in 2019 was sitting on his drive.

Ward, 30, of Storth Avenue, Hucknall, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving without a licence or insurance, at the magistrates’ court.

Recorder Andrew O’Connor QC told him: "You have a lot of people relying on you. You must break this pattern of offending otherwise you will let them down."

Ward received a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 15 rehabilitation days and 50 hours of unpaid work, and a 16-month driving ban.