Police have mocked a drug driver after he tried to flee on foot following a high speed chase – wearing sliders.
Bodycam footage shows the moment an officer armed with a taser points the weapon at Stuart Whittaker, 40, ordering him to get on the ground in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
As he’s arrested and handcuffed while lying on the ground wearing socks and the casual slip-on footwear, he is heard to say: “I’m a f*****g idiot mate.”
Cheshire Police said on X Whittaker had tried to run, adding: “Stuart, sliders are probably not the best footwear for this.”
He was convicted of dangerous driving and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence at Chester Crown Court in June and has now admitted drug driving in front of magistrates over the same incident.
Whittaker, from Ellesmere Port, has been sentenced to a total of 16 months in prison and disqualified from driving for five years and eight months.
He was behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf which reached speeds of more than 90mph in a 30mph zone on 13 May and went the wrong way around a roundabout.
Two days later at around 10.25pm, police chased the car as it reached more than 80mph through 30mph zones, ran red traffic lights and travelled through junctions at high speed.
Whittaker, who only held a provisional licence, then fled the vehicle as officers continued the chase on foot.
He was found to have 212 micrograms of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood, when the limit is 50, and 32 micrograms of cocaine per litre of blood, when the limit is 10.
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PC Steffan Cooling said: “Not only did Whittaker fail to stop for police officers on multiple occasions, but he also put the lives of innocent motorists and members of the public at risk.
“He reached speeds of 90mph through residential areas, ran red lights, and even went the wrong way round a roundabout, so it is a miracle that no one was injured or even worse due to his dangerous actions. But his efforts to evade police were to no avail.”
