Homeless Hucknall woman fled cops scared her car where she lived would be seized

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Officers spotted Vicky Arnold, who has never held a driving licence, at the wheel of an uninsured Vauxhall Astra on the outskirts of Hucknall, on October 12, 2019, said prosecutor Luc Chignell.

Dashcam footage showed her going the wrong way around a roundabout and overtaking four cars while veering into oncoming traffic, on Watnall Road.

She reached 60 mph while looping around the same roads on the estate in an apparent bid to shake off the police.

The chase ended when Arnold reversed into the pursuing cars, causing £1,050 of damage to one and £10 to another

She pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving while disqualified, on February 8. She was banned from driving in 2003.

Nottingham Crown Court heard there was a “shorter incident on similar roads,” on July 21, this year, while Arnold was on bail.

She was arrested after a brief chase on foot and officers found evidence of drug activity in the car, said Mr Chignell.

Digby Johnson, mitigating, said Arnold fell in with a group on the estate as a teenager: “Some went to jail for selling heroin and some went because of the things they did to get it.”

“She drove away because she didn't want them to take her car away,” he said. “She was keen to keep the car because she was living in it. She was fearful she was going to lose her home.”

He said the second incident happened while Arnold was no longer living in the car, but she fled because she had drugs on her.

“She began using drugs again after the death of mother,” said Mr Johnson. “She now has an address - the first one she's had for four years.”

She was jailed for four years in 2005 for selling drugs, he said. She has been in custody for five months.

Arnold, 39, of Annesley Road, Hucknall, admitted both sets of dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.

On Thursday, Judge Rosalind Coe QC imposed a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years, with a thinking skills programme and six rehabilitation days. She was banned again for two years.