180mph, M6 getaway driver sentenced to 9 years in jail

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A getaway driver who reached speeds of 180mph to try to escape a police helicopter on the M6 has been given 9 years in jail. Credit: British Transport Police

A getaway driver who reached speeds of 180mph to try to escape a police helicopter on the M6 has been given 9 years in jail.

33-year-old Ben Westwood from Wolverhampton, tried to get away from the helicopter in a chase that covered 65 miles.

He was driving a stolen convertible Audi RS5 along the M6, in the West Midlands, on the 13th January this year.

Police gave chase by car and helicopter after spotting a gang trying to rob a cash machine in Penn in the West Midlands but they could not keep up with the £85,000 sports car.

It is one of only two of its kind in the UK. Westwood was charged with for dangerous driving and conspiracy to burgle and steal.

He was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to steal on 13th July

33-year-old Ben Westwood has been jailed for 9 years for raiding a cash point in Penn, West Midlands and an 180mph car chase down the M6, also in the West Midlands.