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Criminal with 145 convictions caught after a terrifying high-speed chase.
Richard Barratt was desperate to escape police because he was frightened of being sent back to prison. It was very lucky that he did not kill someone during a hair-raising police chase.
It is believed that he damaged a parked car that was being used to take a boy to the hospital and Barratt ended up being tasered by police after he ran off. He had previously been jailed for public protection and feared being sent back to prison.
But it is thought he would have been cleared over a police investigation. Now he has landed himself behind bars anyway. It is believed police spotted him using his mobile phone while driving and followed him but in Littlecoates road he reached the speed of 70mph and went through traffic lights at Wybers Way and mini-roundabouts at about 75mph. He also overtook vehicles on the wrong side of the road and went straight through traffic lights and undertook vehicles in Victor Street. A parked car was hit in Tunnard Street, he is then believed to have got out and was chased and tasered by police.
Richard Barret had 145 previous convictions and in 2009 he was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection for robbery. He served seven or eight years double the sentence he should have done. At the time of the driving offence he knew police wanted to talk to him about a robbery but he panicked. Police eventually told him they did not think he was involved.
He was jailed for 14 months and was banned from driving for three years and seven months and must pass an extended retest.
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