Man drives stolen Mustang wrong-way on dual carriageway, threatens police and is jailed
Martin Stokes, 20, drove a stolen Ford Mustang against traffic on the A419 for about 3.6 miles, endangering hundreds before being stopped and threatening officers.
On the evening of July 8, officers responding to reports of reckless driving on the M4 westbound pursued Martin Stokes, 20, who was operating a stolen Ford Mustang. He turned onto the A419 southbound carriageway and drove northward against traffic for roughly 3.6 miles, nearly crashing into police cars, motorcyclists and lorries, with a 15-year-old passenger in the vehicle. The high-speed pursuit lasted at least seven minutes and included a dangerous wrong-way run through a roundabout near Swindon.
Police eventually boxed the Mustang, broke the driver’s side door and detained Stokes, who then threatened to kill the officers and two critical-care paramedics. He later pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including dangerous driving, assault on emergency workers and threats to kill, and was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court to two years and eight months in prison and a six-year-four-month driving ban.
Why it matters
The case highlights the extreme danger of wrong-way driving and the severe penalties for threatening emergency responders.
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