A driver from the village of Mark, near Burnham-On-Sea, who stole a van and used it to ram a police patrol vehicle in Highbridge has this week been jailed.
Barry Veysey, 53, was already banned from driving when he took a Citroen van which was spotted by number plate recognition cameras in Highbridge.
He brought Highbridge town centre to a standstill back in May – as pictured here and first reported by Burnham-On-Sea.com here – when several police cars blocked him from leaving in Market Street.
He rammed a police car after reversing at high speed onto the roundabout to try and avoid another patrol car which was blocking his progress.
Veysey, of Kingsway, Mark, was this week found guilty in his absence at Taunton Crown Court of dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, and driving while disqualified.
He was jailed for 15 months and banned from driving for two years by Judge Erik Salomonsen after he refused to leave his cell to attend Exeter Crown Court.
The jury at the original trial in Taunton heard the white Citroen van was stolen from a farmer near Bridgwater in April and had been identified by a vehicle number recognition device in Highbridge several days later.
Sgt Ian Kennett from Burnham Police said afterwards: “This conviction was a direct result of a number plate recognition hit on a camera which was being monitored by the police and Sedgemoor District Council. This was an excellent example of co-operation between the police and their partner agencies which resulted in a repeat offender being given a custodial sentence. It reinforces the message that crime doesn’t pay.”
