Motorcyclist who reached 123mph sentenced after high-speed police chase
Watch the moment police catch up with Harvey Thomas on the M5
A motorcyclist who regularly hit speeds of over 100mph has been sentenced after a high-speed police chase on the M5.
Harvey Thomas, of Emersons Green, repeatedly drove a motorbike at excessive speeds past fixed safety cameras in South Gloucestershire.
He has been given a suspended prison sentence and a driving ban.
Thomas, who committed the offences over a three-month period earlier this year mainly in Filton and Patchway, used a motorbike without number plates in a bid to avoid being caught.
Eventually police identified him and the bike he was using and linked him to multiple offences.
On Sunday 28 April, Roads Policing officer PC Mark Lambert, who was in an unmarked car, spotted a bike being ridden without plates near junction 17 of the M5 northbound.
The bike made off at speed and officers pursued it.
The bike reached speeds of up to 150mph during the pursuit, which went onto the M4 westbound and across the Prince of Wales bridge, before heading back in the opposite direction.
Officers used a rolling roadblock to slow other traffic down so they could safely stop and detain him on the M4 eastbound, near junction 20.
He was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court after being convicted of one count of dangerous driving, six counts of exceeding a 40mph speed limit in contravention of a Local Traffic Order, and two counts of exceeding a 50mph speed limit in contravention of a Local Traffic Order.
He received a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to pay £150 costs and a £187 victim surcharge.
As part of the sentence, Thomas will have to undergo rehabilitation activities and carry out 120 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months.
He has also been disqualified from driving for 18 months and will have to undertake an extended test following the ban.