A SISTON Hill man drove a van loaded with stolen goods the wrong way on the M4 as he tried to evade police.
Scott Lippiatt, of Stanier Road, has been jailed after admitting a crime spree which was only stopped when police officers forced the van, which was also stolen, to crash into the motorway’s central reservation.
Swindon Crown Court heard that on January 15 police from Wiltshire police’s Serious Youth Gang Violence and Burglary team identified a Citroen Berlingo van which had been involved in a number of thefts from vehicles, where tools, motocross bikes, equipment and clothing had been taken.
The van, which was being driven with stolen registration plates, was spotted being driven out of the town on the A3102 at Blagrove, towards junction 16 of the M4.
The burglary team worked with road policing, firearms and specialist operations officers to try and stop the van while it was waiting at traffic lights.
But 23-year-old Lippiatt broke out of the “containment” by police vehicles and drove through a red light, mounting a grass verge before driving in the wrong direction on the wrong side of the motorway.
A Wiltshire police spokesperson said he was only stopped when officers from three firearms units caught up with and made contact with the vehicle, causing it to crash at low speed into the central reservation.
Lippiatt and two other men were arrested and taken to hospital as a precaution, before being taken into custody.
In August Lippiatt was jailed for a total of a year and five months, after pleading guilty to charges of dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, multiple counts of theft from a vehicle, driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent, going equipped for theft, driving without a licence and insurance.
Afterwards PC Warren Johnston said: “Lippiatt showed no respect for other motorists by driving in such a mindless and dangerous manner, with the potential of causing multiple serious collisions.
“This was all done with a stolen vehicle, full of stolen goods he had taken from vehicles in Swindon prior to making his way onto the motorway.
“The teamwork displayed by multiple teams within Wiltshire and quick decisive actions of officers brought the matter to a swift and safe conclusion, and allowed the return of a number of high value stolen items to their owners.”
The two other men – John Matthews, 39, of Lawrence Weston, 26-year-old Chaz Bevan, of Knowle West – were both given community orders.