Mum in M56 police chase through Cheshire after driving with friend on bonnet

Hannah Kellett was given a chance by the courts for her previous misdemeanour, which saw the friend fall from the bonnet of Kellett’s car she was sat on after the defendant braked harshly.

But she ‘threw this back into the court’s face’ through her disgraceful attempts to evade arrest, travelling at twice the speed limit on Cheshire’s motorway system despite being banned from driving at the time.

Following the chase, which started in Wirral, before moving to the M56 and ending at Lymm services, the 27-year-old trainee midwife ditched her car and attempted to flee on foot, before being arrested by police.

She was subsequently charged and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance, while also being in breach of her suspended sentence.

Kellett, of Grasmere Avenue in Orford, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday to learn her fate, and was told that this time that a custodial sentence was inevitable.

Paulinus Barnes, prosecuting, explained how on March 20 at around 5am, Kellett was driving on the M53 in Wirral behind a traffic police officer.

The officer noticed Kellett’s car had its fog lights on unnecessarily and was travelling at 50mph, giving him the feeling that she did not want to catch up.

He used his vehicle’s equipment to ask her to turn her fog lights off and also ran the vehicle’s plate through his system, which revealed how her Audi A3 had been flagged by Merseyside Police.

After eventually overtaking, Kellett left the M53 at junction four for Bebington and was followed by the officer, who told her to pull over by activating his emergency equipment.

Chester Crown Court

Instantly, Kellett performed an ‘aggressive’ U-turn across the path of the officer, ran a red light and re-joined the M53, gathering speeds of up to 140mph.

After leaving and re-joining the motorway at junction seven for Overpool, she then merged onto the M56 Manchester-bound, swerving across all three lanes at 150mph.

Giving the impression she was to leave the highway at junction 11 for Runcorn, Kellett instead turned off all lights, despite the sun not having risen.

Officers briefly lost sight of her, but caught up on the M6 and followed her into Lymm services, where they saw two females run away – the defendant and a friend.

The keys to the Audi were recovered nearby after they were apprehended, and in her first police interview, Kellett denied being the driver, claiming that a male friend had been behind the wheel.

Videos found on the passenger’s phone taken just prior to the police chase showed the car being driven by someone wearing a distinctive watch which matched that worn by Kellett.

After being shown the footage, Kellett admitted she was driving and said that she only denied it beforehand as she was ‘scared about going to prison’.

Mr Barnes also explained to the court Kellett’s sole previous conviction, for which she was sentenced for 25 days prior and which involved the same Audi A3.

This saw her receive a 12-month sentence suspended for two years and three-year driving disqualification after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He added that drug driving was suspected in the March 20 chase and blood samples were taken and sent off, however no charges of this nature can be issued at present as it will be ‘five to six months’ before the results come back.

Kellett was pursued by police on the M53, M56 and M6

While admitting Kellett’s actions were ‘prolonged, selfish and dangerous’, Sarah Griffin, defending, told the court how her client had demonstrated ‘genuine remorse’.

“I invite the court to take into account that there were no collisions and no injuries were caused,” she said.

Ms Griffin also noted how the defendant’s mental health struggles put her in an ‘extremely bad place’ and highlighted the impact that custody could have on her seven-year-old son.

Before sentencing, judge Steven Everett said: “I have no doubt the judge (when sentencing on February 23) will have said if you commit any further offences, you run the risk of your suspended sentence being activated, so what happened?

“Within weeks, you were driving the same Audi car on the M53, and one can see why you were slowing down, as if you had been stopped you would have been in serious trouble, but then you made things worse.

“I accept it was a moment of madness and that you panicked about being caught by the police, but that does not excuse what you did.

“The truly high speeds could have been fatal for road users and passengers in other vehicles, and driving and disappearing into the distance without your lights on is beggar’s belief.

“The court gave you a chance, but you threw it back in their faces.”

Kellett, who appeared via videolink from HMP New Hall near Wakefield, was jailed for 20 months and disqualified from driving for four years.

Judge Everett also ordered that she must pass an extended driving test after this four-year period before getting behind the wheel again and that her Audi must be forfeited.