A suspected drink driver rammed a police armed response vehicle when he was cornered in a country lane after a chase.

Written by Midweek Herald court reporter.

Gavin Buxton took off at speed when police tried to stop his Toyota Yaris in Pinhoe and was heading towards East Devon when he crashed in West Clyst.

During the short pursuit he had gone through red lights, driven on the wrong side of the road, and mounted the kerb to get through a pedestrianised area.

He carried on driving despite the police smashing the driver’s window when they first tried to stop him and a passenger he was carrying got out and stood in front of the police car to try to slow it down.

He was desperate to escape because he had no licence, tax or insurance and had almost certainly been drinking, although it was impossible to prove it because he refused two breath tests.

He had left his home at around midnight on March 1 this year to buy vodka and was stopped as he drove to an all-night shop, Exeter Crown Court

Buxton, aged 36, of Jordan Drive, Exeter, admitted dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen of breath and having no insurance. He was jailed for eight months, suspended for 18 months and banned from driving for 29 months by Recorder Mr Malcolm Galloway.

He was also ordered to undertake drug and alcohol rehabilitation and to pay £120 part compensation for the £881.32 damage he did to the police car.

The judge told him: “You were chased by a police car at 50 mph in a 20 mph zone, you used your passenger to try to stop the police following you, you did not stop after they smashed your window and even when you were trapped, you reversed at speed and struck the police car.

“On the other side of things, the time over which the pursuit took place was very short, no other pedestrians or road users were put at risk and I accept you have medical issues arising from a motorcycle accident in 2010.

“Considering how many people now say you can be rehabilitated, I’m going to give you one last chance.”

Mr Michael Brown, prosecuting, said a police patrol tried to stop Buxton’s car because it was flagged as being untaxed and uninsured. One officer approached his window as he was stationary at a red light but he responded by driving off at speed.

There was a four minute pursuit which ended in him turning into a country lane leading away from Exeter. He did not realise that it was blocked with concrete bollards to prevent it being used as a rat run and crashed into one of them.

He then reveres his car into the police vehicle which was blocking him in, causing front end damage. He was arrested and refused to give a breath test at the scene and at the police station.

Mr Simon Burns, defending, said Buxton had not drunk for a few days before the incident but was scared of giving a breath test in case it proved positive.

He said he had not put anyone else at risk because the streets were empty at that time of night and the pursuit was very short. He said Buxton has stable housing for the first time in many years and is receiving help for long standing issued of alcohol and drug addiction.

He said: “If he is sent to prison today, he will come out homeless and return to drinking and sleeping in shop doorways, which will do nothing for either himself or society.”