Daft driver only reached 45mph in M55 police pursuit - because he only had three tyres

Marc Armstrong, 42, led police on a pursuit on the M55 but could only reach speeds of 45mph, Preston Crown Court heard.

He later told police he had got into the black Saab, which belonged to his mother, after an argument with a woman in the Preston area.

A front tyre blew on the car but the dad-of-four continued driving.

The damage was spotted as he passed a police patrol car on the Broughton roundabout at around 11pm on May 23, and he was pulled over on the slip road onto the west bound carriageway.

Prosecuting, Stella Massey said: " The driver got out and was looking at the car.

"The officer spoke to him and noticed he smelt of alcohol and his words were slurred. The officer asked him to sit in the police car but he declined and sat down on the barrier.

"The officer went back to get a testing kit. As he did he noticed Mr Armstrong make his way back to the Saab. He tried to grab the driver door but the defendant started the engine and started to set off, and the tyre came away completely."

A pursuit began as Armstrong reached 40 to 45mph in the slow lane. Other police cars eventually joined the chase but Armstrong then steered aggressively at them before swerved across all three lanes and into the fast lane.

But officers were then able to box him in and he was forced to stop next to the central reservation.

He then struggled with police for several minutes as he refused to get out of the car.

He was pulled out by two of them and handcuffed. He refused to give a breath sample at the police station.

Defending, Julie Taylor said Armstrong had recently fallen on hard times and had been living in a storage unit on Wareham Road, Blackpool.

She said: " This man's life has been very sad of late."

He admitted dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen, and driving without insurance.

Recorder Barratt suspended his six month jail term for a year but imposed a three year driving ban with an extended retest and a rehabilitation requirement, describing his driving as "extremely bad and dangerous".