Peterborough drug dealer jailed after high speed chase through city centre

Jose Andre, 33, came to the attention of officers in a marked police car at about 4pm on 29 July, 2018, when his uninsured Vauxhall Vectra triggered ANPR in Eastfield Road, Peterborough.

The officers activated their sirens but Andre refused to stop and attempted to get away, overtaking a queue of cars waiting at a red traffic light before turning into Broadway.

He accelerated, doubling the 30mph speed limit, weaving in and out of other cars and driving through red lights.

When he turned into Eastfield Road and reached a speed of 80mph, officers made the decision to stop the pursuit due to the risk he was posing to others in the built-up area.

However, as they did so, they saw a cloud of grey smoke in the distance and when they turned a right-hand corner saw Andre had collided with another car.

Despite injuring two innocent people and causing significant damage, Andre got out and ran away.

Officers followed and he was caught a short while later hiding in the garden of a nearby property.

The driver and passenger of the other car were taken to hospital with serious injuries but have since made full recoveries.

A search of Andre’s car identified an invoice which showed he'd purchased the vehicle earlier that day.

Also found in the passenger footwell was 2.65g of cocaine and 2.07g of heroin, worth a combined street value of about £530.

Andre, of Park Road, Sawtry, later pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and dangerous driving.

He was sentenced to 52 months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday (18 November) and was also banned from driving for two years.

DC Graham Holmes said: "Andre showed a complete disregard for the safety of himself and all those around him when he drove in such a dangerous manner through a busy city centre.

"His actions resulted in two innocent people being seriously injured yet this didn’t stop him from continuing to run away from police.

"The case shows our commitment to stopping dangerous driving and the sentence shows how seriously drug dealing is taken by the courts.

"There is no place for drugs on the streets of Cambridgeshire and I hope this acts as a deterrent to those involved in this type of criminality."