A FORMER soldier who had turned to drink in a bid to cope with Gulf War syndrome led the police on a hazardous chase after officers tried to stop him at a Rugby waste recycling unit.
And Karl Shephard’s driving was so dangerous officers abandoned the pursuit out of concern for the safety of other road-users, a judge at Warwick Crown Court was told.
The 46-year-old, of no fixed address, narrowly escaped being jailed after he pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol, having no licence or insurance, and dangerous driving.
Instead he was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years, banned from driving for three years, and was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
Prosecutor Dean Easthope said on the evening of July 30 police on patrol in Rugby came across Shephard’s VW Polo stopped in the middle of the road.
So they put on their blue light and pulled up behind it, but Shephard made off, and they lost sight of the car.
Later other officers in a marked police BMW saw the Polo go round a roundabout and head towards a recycling centre.
They followed him as he drove around the site, but when they tried to stop him, he again made off.
They put on their blue light and sirens as he drove on the wrong side of the road and the wrong way round a roundabout, narrowly avoiding an oncoming vehicle.
He continued driving in the same reckless manner and officers decided to call off the pursuit because of the danger to other road-users.
Shephard finally pulled into Riverside Academy where he stopped, and a police car, which had been following at a distance, pulled up behind him.
The Polo then moved back, and there was a minor collision between the two cars, but Mr Easthope said the officers did not believe it had been a deliberate attempt to ram them, and the Polo may simply have rolled back.
Following Shephard’s arrest, a breath test gave a reading which was one-and-a-half times the legal limit, added Mr Easthope.
Ian Speed, defending, said Shephard had spent ten years in the Army, doing tours of duty in Northern Ireland and in the Gulf.
Once he left the Army, Shephard found himself drinking to excess, with a conviction for failing to provide a specimen after being stopped for suspected drink-driving in 2013, and has since been diagnosed as suffering from Gulf War Syndrome.
Recognising he had a problem, he has sought help himself, and has been attending Addaction, a charity to help people with dependencies.
Although married with children, his problems led to the relationship breaking down, and he ended up living in crisis accommodation, but was now staying with various friends.
Sentencing Shephard, Judge Anthony Potter told him: “A sober person driving like that could easily injure another person, but when you add alcohol into the mix, it’s almost a guarantee. Not just you, but other people on the road were fortunate that you didn’t kill or injure them.
“But you served in the Army for ten years, and sadly that has, perhaps for understandable reasons, had an ongoing effect on you.”
