A farmer’s son in Wigan, England, who was being pursued by police attempted to outrun the cops’ car — in a tractor.
The drunk man, identified as 36-year-old Thomas Kirkham, refused to stop the tractor, which was pulling a plow, despite police chasing him with flashing blue lights and twice pulling next to him ordering him to stop, a court heard.
The pursuit, which occurred along roads in Tyldesley, ended with Kirkham driving the tractor off-road by smashing through a fence and into a field. Police eventually had to spray him in the face with pepper spray to get him out of the tractor, during the ensuing struggle, one of the cops suffered a broken hand.
Kirkham, of Morleys Farm on Morleys Lane in Astley, pleaded guilty to charges of driving with excess alcohol, failing to stop a vehicle for a police officer and driving without insurance when he appeared before Wigan magistrates.
Prosecutor Katie McFarlane said that the incident occurred in the early hours of February 10. Kirkham had been drinking at home and had had a fight with his girlfriend over the phone. He decided that the best solution was to hop into the tractor and drive to her house half a mile away.
At 4:20 PM police were called to reports of a disturbance and saw Kirkham driving a tractor in the opposite direction to them along Hen Fold Road in Astley. They put on their lights and siren and gave chase.
“Twice the officers pulled alongside the tractor and both shouted for the driver to stop. The tractor could not maintain a straight line so the officers had to follow behind for fear it would swerve into them,” said McFarlane.
The court heard how Kirkham, who was almost three times the legal limit, continued to drive on regardless, ending up on a road which leads on to the East Lancs Road. About half a mile down the road the tractor stopped. The officers got out of their patrol car and walked to the cabin, but as they got level with it the tractor turned sharply left and crashed through a fence and into a field.
“It tore huge tire marks through the grass,” said McFarlane.
The tractor got stuck in a pile of dirt, and two officers ran up to it. One of the officers, Police Chief Jonathan Burr, told Kirkham to turn off the engine and get out. The officer tried to open the door, but it would not open.
“The defendant was still revving the engine so the officer decided to smash the glass panel, but his baton bounced off it. There was a gap in the glass so the officers sprayed CS gas [pepper spray] in his face, but it had no effect,” said McFarlane.
The tractor got a grip in the soil and Kirkham again drove off toward the officers who had to jump out of the way. It then stopped and the officers ran over and again yelled at him to exit the vehicle.
He refused but the officers were able to drag him out. As they were doing this, Burr got his hand trapped resulting in a broken bone.
Kirkham’s attorney, Bob Toppin, said that Kirkham worked as a gas fitter and, if that he was jailed, the effects on him would be “catastrophic”. His employer was standing by him and described Kirkham as a perfect employee. It had been an isolated incident and he had acted stupidly and recklessly.
The injury to the cop had been completely unintentional.
Kirkham was sentenced to four months in prison, two years’ probation and ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work. He was also banned from driving for two and a half years and ordered to pay Burr £1,250 (US$2,517.49) in compensation. He must also pay £43 (about US$86.60) in court costs.