Driver smashed stolen car into pub after 110mph chase and narrowly missed punters

A dangerous driver who tried to escape police in a stolen car during a 110mph chase has been jailed.

Stunned punters inside The Lockside pub in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, were playing pool when Jamie Kettle crashed the stolen Land Rover Discovery, narrowly missing them.

The force of the crash caused the wall of the pub to buckle as Kettle, 37, tried to escape police in the stolen car on March 27.

He then got out of the car and waded into a canal to try and avoid capture, but he was found by police dogs and arrested.

Officers received a report of a Land Rover Discovery stolen from a home in Woodthorpe. They spotted the vehicle and followed it as it went onto the A57, reaching speeds of 110mph in a 60mph zone.

Kettle continued to drive dangerously, including overtaking vehicles at high speed, and going through red lights, before he drove into Worksop. He was going too fast to negotiate a junction before crashing into the pub wall.

Kettle was driving too fast to navigate the junction (Picture: PA)

He smashed into the corner of the pub, causing the wall to buckle right next to where a group of punters were playing pool (Picture: PA)

Kettle, of Thoresby Close, Harworth, was subsequently charged with aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, criminal damage to the pub, and two counts of theft from a shop, committed in Harworth on February 22 and March 2 of this year.

He pleaded guilty to the offences and appeared at Nottingham crown court for sentencing on Friday (December 8).

Kettle also admitted two counts of common assault of an emergency worker after he aggressively resisted two police officers who were called to a disturbance at an address in Bircotes on September 6 of last year.

He bent one of the officer’s fingers back and spat at a second officer as they tried to defuse the situation.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of witness intimidation, relating to an address in the Retford area on June 2, 2022, when he threatened to burn their house down.

Kettle was jailed for a total of two years. He was also banned from driving for three years and three months and must take an extended retest.

The smash caused huge structural damage to the pub (Picture: PA)

Sergeant Clint Gloyn said: ‘Kettle’s dangerous and erratic driving showed utter disregard for the safety of others.

‘He continued to drive at speed in highly populated built-up areas before crashing into the pub. There were numerous people inside the pub at the time and also walking through the town centre.

‘Extensive structural damage was caused to the pub but thankfully no-one was injured.

‘I’m glad we were able to bring this case before the courts and show this type of criminality is unacceptable, and offenders who put other people’s safety at risk in this way will be robustly dealt with.’

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Stunned punters were playing pool when Jamie Kettle crashed the stolen Land Rover Discovery into the pub wall, narrowly missing them.