'Stupid' drug dealers from Plymouth jailed after 135mph M5 police chase

Two drug dealers who led police on a 135mph chase on the M5 before being stopped with a spike strip device have been jailed.

The pair both received 28-month custodial sentences at Plymouth Crown Court yesterday (October 26) after being caught in June this year bringing cannabis from Manchester to Plymouth.

Devon and Cornwall Police later discovered the pair to be in possession of Class A and Class B drugs.

Billy Reed, 20, was charged with dangerous driving, having no insurance and the supply of cocaine, crack and cannabis.

Max Montgomery-Clayton, 26, was charged with the supply of cocaine, crack and cannabis.

Police attempted to flag down the Jaguar X-type car they were spotted in on the M5 but the men failed to stop resulting in a pursuit - reaching speeds of up to 135mph.

In court, prosecutor Nick Lewin said that Reed and Montgomery-Clayton were in a Jaguar X type on the M5 southbound heading back to Plymouth from Manchester on June 21, when police spotted them at about 11pm.

Reed, who was driving, was able to evade a police manoeuvre designed to stop the vehicle.

The car hit speeds of up to 135mph but police deployed a stinger which burst all of its tyres and it came to a standstill near junction 28 for Cullompton.

A bag of cannabis weighing about two kilos was discovered in the car and officers found a set of keys on Montgomery-Clayton.

He told police that the keys were for a garage, which police then searched.

In total, the pair were found to have cannabis with a street value of up to £20,000, crack cocaine with a street value of up to £7,600 and cocaine with a street value of about £520.

Cash totalling £3,610 was also seized.

Evie Dean, defending Reed, told the court that his dad was a drug dealer who had taken Reed on deals from the age of three.

From the age of 16, Reed was made homeless. Ms Dean said: "He realises his mistake now. He has spent some time in custody and it has given him a wake-up call.

"He does not want to go back to prison."

Ali Rafati, defending Montgomery-Clayton, said: "There is more to Mr Montgomery-Clayton than what police found on June 21. He has lived a relatively good life in the past."

Reed, of no fixed abode from Plymouth, had previously pleaded guilty to driving dangerously on the southbound M5, including driving without a licence, driving without insurance, possession with intent to supply cocaine, possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and possession with intent to supply cannabis.

Montgomery-Clayton, of Alexandra Road, Ford, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply crack cocaine, and possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Robert Linford said: "You were [driving like that] because people far more involved in this instructed you to speed off and not slow down.

"Hardened drug dealers don't tell people where the garage is [and] don't hand police the keys.

"You are not bad people, you are stupid people who have done a bad thing."