Man jailed after high speed chase in stolen car from Manchester Airport

Watch the police helicopter footage of Sam Toms attempting to escape police

A man has been jailed after stealing an £84,000 car and leading police on a high speed chase, reaching speeds of up to 150mph.

CCTV footage shows Sam Toms, 19, approach a Range Rover inside a Manchester Airport car park before using a device to unlock the car and get inside.

The Range Rover Sport, whose owner had left it in the secure car park and had both sets of keys, is then seen driving out, on 31 March 2023.

It was later spotted by police driving through Staffordshire, and a police helicopter began to follow the vehicle as it drove on the A661, but when it started to speed up a chase ensued.

Police on the ground were able to deploy a stinger, which punctured three of the Range Rover's tyres.

Toms refused to stop and the chase went on for 10 minutes, with the Range Rover reaching speeds of 150mph.

During this time, he ran through multiple red lights, nearly crashed into a lorry, and drove off road.

The chase ended when Toms hit a dead end on a residential street, and was unable to turn around due to the damaged tyres.

He jumped out of the vehicle and was chased by an officer on foot. Another officer noticed the Range Rover was still moving, and had to get inside the car to bring it to a stop.

Moments later, Toms was caught by the officer and arrested.

Toms pleaded guilty to a number of charges including theft, dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, and driving with no insurance at Manchester Crown Court.

Sentencing him to 21 months in prison Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said it was the most serious dangerous driving she had seen in a very long time.

Manchester Crown Court also heard that Toms had previous convictions for dangerous driving, and was on bail at the time of the theft.

His barrister said he fell into financial problems, which led to him 'doing favours' for a group in Birmingham.

His barrister, Jordan Millican, said: "He was unable to take a step back and stand up against these men.

“He was, in his words ‘totally under pressure’ and became involved out of fear they would cause him some injury or harm. He accepts his behaviour demonstrates a lack of maturity.”