A man has been sentenced to 71 weeks in prison after ramming a police car in his van before speeding off along the M40.

Stuart Jones aged 48, of Himley Road, Dudley, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and assaulting police at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday 2 September.

At around 11.35pm on Saturday 14 June Warwickshire Police received a report of a van with a driver "behaving suspiciously" in Stratford.

As officers approached, Jones rammed the police vehicle before fleeing the scene. He continued to drive out of Stratford, often on the wrong side of the road, and without lights on.

By now on the M40, the van did a U-turn and drove the wrong way, where officers managed to stop it and detain Jones. 

Following the court outcome, Sgt Sadie Shearsby said: "The officer who was driving the police vehicle was assaulted during this incident – something emergency service workers shouldn't have to face while on duty. 

"This job could have easily escalated, and serious harm could have been caused to the officers, our police dogs, members of the public and the defendant - so the quick stop of the vehicle on the M40 was a great tactical response. 

"The teamwork shown and the officers hard work and efforts have helped to bring this case to a successful conclusion."

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