A BANNED driver behind the wheel of a Porsche which had been involved in an earlier pursuit was left with nowhere to run thanks to Essex Police officers and a police helicopter.

On the afternoon of Saturday, 21 March, Essex police officers spotted the black Porsche Cayenne and watched as it parked at Festival Leisure Park in Basildon.

With the vehicle having failed to stop for police the previous day, officers put a plan in place involving its Operational Support Group, Roads Policing Unit, Basildon's Local Policing Team, a stinger and support from the National Police Air Service helicopter.

When the Porsche left the leisure park, it began to increase its speed and drove through a red traffic light as officers deployed the stinger.

Tracked from above and followed by officers, the Porsche was then seen to cross onto the wrong side of the road before travelling the wrong way around a roundabout.

It entered a site off Courtauld Road, where the driver abandoned the vehicle.

The NPAS helicopter continued to track him from above, allowing officers on the ground to swiftly detain him.

The driver refused to provide his name but was soon identified as 19-year-old Buster Digby, of Woodward Gardens, Sawbridgeworth.

Checks established Digby was already disqualified from driving, held only a provisional licence and was not insured to drive the vehicle.

Digby later admitted a range of offences including:

• Failing to stop when required by police.
• Driving without care and attention.
• Driving otherwise in accordance with a licence.
• Driving without insurance.
• Driving whilst disqualified.

Appearing at Basildon Magistrates' Court for sentence, he was given 12 weeks in a young offender institution, suspended for a year, with a reabilitation activity requirement attached.

He was banned from driving for a further 18 months.

Inspector Stephen Walker, of Basildon Local Policing Team, said: "Our officers are out across Essex every day, including here in Basildon, targeting those who use our roads to commit crime and denying them the opportunity to do so.

"The vehicle had already failed to stop for officers the previous day so, when it was spotted again in Basildon, we were ready with a plan to stop it.

"The coordination between our officers and colleagues in the police helicopter meant Digby was tracked throughout and, once he abandoned the vehicle, he had nowhere left to run.

"If you use our roads to commit crime, drive dangerously or believe you can simply make off from police, our officers will use the tactics and technology available to them to find you and bring you before the courts."