Court told 130mph East Yorkshire driver claimed he was 'Jehovah's Witness' to avoid drugs test

A driver who was clocked travelling at 130mph in East Yorkshire had previously tried to avoid being tested for drugs by telling police he was a Jehovah's Witness.

Patrick Joseph Smith, 26, of Riverside Park in Newark, was caught driving dangerously on the A63 near North Ferriby.

Hull Crown Court heard it was the latest in a series of driving offences, including an occasion when he was caught driving under the influence of drugs in Gloucestershire in 2019.

The court heard he tried to avoid a test by claiming that he was scared of needles and that he was exempt on religious grounds because he was a Jehovah's Witness.

While on bail for that offence, in June last year Smith was spotted driving suspiciously on the A638 near Markham Moor in Nottinghamshire.

He sped off, but his car was later found down a dirt track hidden in undergrowth with two female passengers in the back.

Smith was unresponsive and under the influence of drink in the front.

He was already banned from driving when he was caught travelling at 130mph near Brough.

When he was stopped, he told officers: "I'm an idiot, take the car, you can have it."

But he gave a false name and claimed to have been travelling at between only 80 and 90mph.

Judge Sophie McKone told Smith: "You were seen driving in a breathtakingly dangerous manner, it is a miracle that no one was injured or killed.

"You took risks without regard for the safety or the lives of anyone else on that road who you could have seriously hurt.

"You seem to think you are above the law, you drive when disqualified and refuse to take drugs tests when ordered to."

The court heard Smith had 31 criminal convictions.

He was jailed for 16 months and was banned from driving for 24 months.