Dad hit 130mph in police chase with £700k of cocaine in car

Patrick Holt has been locked up for his disgraceful driving which saw him cut across a field, reach horrifying speeds on the motorway and tear through the streets of Warrington and St Helens.

Officers were injured as a result of his actions behind the wheel, while police vehicles also sustained damage in their attempts to stop him.

The 41-year-old was eventually stopped however and brought to justice at Liverpool Crown Court, appearing via video link from HMP Altcourse on Tuesday on charges of dangerous driving and possession with intent to supply cocaine.

The 23-minute pursuit began shortly after 1.30pm on May 25, the court heard from prosecutor Nardeen Nemat.

The police helicopter was scrambled to assist during the 30-mile chase which saw Holt reach speeds of up to 130mph on the M62, as well as 80mph on residential streets with a 30mph speed limit.

The terrible driving he displayed also saw him take blind bends at speed, run red lights, bump up onto the pavement and experience near-misses with other road users.

The defendant was driving a Range Rover bearing a personalised registration plate on the motorway heading eastbound between junctions six for Tarbock Island and seven for Rainhill Stoops when it came to the attention of Merseyside Police.

Officers tried to stop Holt, who was described in court as a "trusted courier", by boxing the car in, but this failed.

Holt left the motorway at junction nine for Winwick and headed down Broad Lane in Collins Green at 50mph, making contact with a police vehicle in the process.

Before then, footage from pursuing police was played in court showing him over and undertaking traffic and leading officers through Winwick Quay.

The defendant proceeded along Cromwell Avenue before careered down a grass verge and cutting across a field towards Burtonwood.

The pursuit continued through to St Helens town centre, where Holt traversed several circuits of roundabouts near to Ravenhead Retail Park.

Patrick Holt was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court

This came before he was eventually stopped after police boxed him in on St Helens Linkway, where he was arrested.

A search of the Range Rover uncovered seven vacuum-sealed blocks of cocaine in a suitcase in the boot and £550 in cash in the glove box compartment.

These blocks had a weight of just under 7kg and purity of around 80 per cent – with a street value of up to £698,425.

During his police interview, Holt refused to provide the pin number to his mobile phone and offered no comment to questions put to him.

Ms Nemat told the court how officers described the chase as one of the "most dangerous pursuits of their careers", with one sustaining a neck and shoulder injury and another suffering back pain.

She also revealed that Holt has no previous convictions.

In defence of his client, Michael Scholes, referenced his lack of prior offending and how he was involved in drug transporting due to financial problems.

“The driving was as bad as it gets. I am not proposing to make any fatuous submission about the dangerous driving. It speaks for itself. It is a high speed, determined attempt to escape,” the barrister said, adding that Holt ‘panicked’ when police tried to stop him the ‘hard-working and honest man’.

Before sentencing, judge Anil Murray said: “You were moving that valuable cargo when the police saw you on the M62 and tried to stop you.

“This really was a shocking and incredibly dangerous piece of driving. It was amazing that you did not really hurt someone or worse.

“It is about as bad as you can get in terms of police chases. This was a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road.

“It was prolonged, persistent and deliberate, and you intended to get away from the police because of your cargo.”

Holt, of Longmoor Lane in Fazakerley, was sentenced to six years in prison and disqualified from driving for four and a half years.