A 43-year-old Liverpool man, Alan Abel, has been sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court after a high-speed police char involving a stolen Scania HGV tractor unit along the M6 motorway near Penrith in the early hours of July 9.
The chase began shortly after 2 a.m. when police flagged the HGV as suspicious as it traveled northbound on the M6. However, officers’ suspicions prompted a pursuit as the vehicle approached Penrith.
In an attempt to bring the chase to an end, police implemented a rolling roadblock between junctions 40 and 41. Undeterred, Abel drove his HGV onto the hard shoulder, bypassing the stationary vehicles positioned to stop him.
Dashcam footage from police vehicles captured a tense one minute and 45 seconds as Abel continued to evade officers before being surrounded by police cars and forced to stop.
Abel claimed when arrested he had been asked to collect the vehicle and was driving it north for delivery.
Abel pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without insurance, and handling stolen goods. The Scania HGV, fitted with false plates, remains under investigation, as police have yet to identify its owner.
Sentencing Abel, the judge imposed a 12-month community order, that includes 200 hours of unpaid work. Abel was also banned from driving for 12 months.
Anyone with information they think may assist police in tracing the owner of the vehicle can report online at twww.cumbria.police.uk/reportit quoting incident number 9 of 9 July 2024. You can also phone on 101.
Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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