Once-promising Cardiff rugby player had moment of 'lunacy' leading police on high speed chase

Watch as Daniel Harley is finally arrested after leading police on a high speed chase around some of Cardiff's suburbs.

A former Cardiff Rugby youth player showed "absolute lunacy" as he led police on a high-speed car chase.

Dashcam footage shows Daniel Harley, 22, from Rumney, driving dangerously for four minutes through the suburbs of Cardiff as he attempts to evade police.

That was before he ended up in a cul-de-sac and emerged from his car bare-chested.

Harley had been stopped by police in the early hours of 29 July last year in Ely after an officer had been standing next to his Renault Clio trying to take his alcohol reading.

However, when the officer asked him to take his keys out of the ignition, Harley sped off.

The pursuit at 2.55am and lasted four minutes as Harley hurtled along Cowbridge Road West and residential areas of Ely and Caerau.

Several police cars chased him as he ran red lights.

Harley did multiple loops of one roundabout, narrowly missed a police car while coming off another, and went the wrong way on a third.

After failing to lose his pursuers, he eventually parked on a dead-end street before getting out of the car shirtless and was arrested.

Harley, of Tyr-Y-Sarn Road, appeared at Cardiff Magistrates' Court pleading guilty to driving dangerously with 110mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg.

He also admitted failing to stop for police and using a handheld phone while driving.

His solicitor Peter Obradovic said Harley already had nine points on his driving licence. He was once a "promising young player" for Cardiff Rugby and now had a "good job", the lawyer added.

"It was an act of absolute lunacy," said Mr Obradovic, who revealed his client was the car's registered owner and had sped off because he feared he would be arrested for drink-driving.

"He's fortunate he's not injured and he hasn't killed anyone else. That can't be minimised. It was idiotic to say the least...A custodial sentence would be absolutely devastating for him."

District Judge Steve Harmes said: "Clearly what he was doing was horrendous but eventually he comes to the conclusion — because he's not hammered — that he's not going to get away.

"He decides to stop. It's his first offence of this type, albeit he has a record of speeding and going through traffic lights, which is poor at the age of 22."

Judge Harmes added: "Rugby is nothing to do with this. I don't care that you play rugby. But in general, rugby is a good thing for keeping discipline. And you've lost your discipline, haven't you?"

"I have, yeah," the former academy flanker replied.

Judge Harmes said he believed that Harley has learnt his lesson and there is a "realistic prospect" of rehabilitation.

He imposed a six-month jail term suspended for two years, a two-year driving ban, 100 hours of unpaid work, 18 days of rehabilitation activity, a £154 victim services surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs. 

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