A trucker who campaigned for a change in the law demanding stiffer sentences for dangerous drivers has escaped jail himself – for dangerous driving whilst drunk.
James Meadowcroft, 28, had gone on Facebook to sign an online petition and slam the British justice system as a ‘laughing stock’ after a motorist was given six years jail for killing a man in a high speed smash.
But two years later Meadowcroft was hauled before the same court which jailed Addil Haroon after police arrested him for on suspicion of drink driving after leading police on a high speed pursuit.
James Meadowcroft, 28, was arrested after leading police on a high speed chase on July 22 which only ended after he lost control of his Ford Mondeo and smashed into a traffic light
Meadowcroft shared a linik to a petition calling for tougher sentences for dangerous drivers after Addil Haroon received six years after killing three people while driving dangerously
Meadowcroft, pictured, took four blind junctions ‘at speed’ according to prosecutors
The HGV driver had sparked the chase when he continuously pressed on the horn of his Ford Mondeo car at 4am within earshot of police dealing with an unrelated incident. When the officer went over to speak to the driver, he swerved around the officer and drove off and at speeds of up 75mph in a 30mph zone.
Meadowcroft took four blind junctions ‘at speed’ and overtook a stationery vehicle waiting at a red light before ploughing into a traffic light. When police arrested him at the scene, he was heard to be slurring his words and was later found to be one and a half times the legal limit.
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Meadowcroft from Radcliffe, Manchester, admitted dangerous driving and drink driving but was given a suspended sentence by a judge who warned him he was ‘lucky’ nobody was killed.
Meadowcroft had taken to Facebook in 2015 after Haroon was jailed for dangerous driving for killing another driver whilst speeding at 80mph in his Audi A6 hire car on a residential street in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
He called on others to sign a petition on Change.org website to increase sentences for reckless and dangerous driving and raged: ‘He was bragging about the speeds he’d been driving out so make an example of him and stop making the CPS and justice system the laughing stock!!!’
But Meadowcroft himself came to the attention of police over his shameful driving on July 22 at 4.25am when officers were at an address dealing with an unrelated domestic violence incident.
Meadowcroft was sitting outside a friend’s house in Manchester at 4am on July 22
Meadowcroft had 54 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 mililitres of breath, over the legal limit of 35mg. Officers tested the truck driver’s breath because he slurred his words after the crash
Meadowcroft travelled at more than 75 miles per hour before crashing into a traffic light
‘Whilst at that address they could hear someone continuously sounding their horn outside the premises,’ said prosecutor Nicola Wells. ‘The vehicle was parked down the road and the officer went to speak to the defendant and so he went to the driver’s window. As he went to speak to the defendant he drove around the officer and went out of view.
‘The officer went back to his vehicle and called an area search and the car had been located in a back alley. Officers drove to that address and upon seeing them, the defendant began the pursuit in a dark blue Ford Mondeo.
‘It was a residential area and the speed limit was mainly 30mph but the car was recorded at 75mph on some occasions during this pursuit. He is described to go at speed through four blind junctions and over took a stationary car that had a driver waiting at a red light.
‘The road surface was described as wet and the officer gave his opinion that thankfully there were no pedestrians and only two other moving vehicles. Upon reaching Bolton Road, he crashed and hit a traffic light post.
‘The defendant then ran from the scene but was caught straight away and was a arrested. Upon arrest he was heard to be slurring his words.’
Tests showed Meadowcroft had 54 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 mililitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
His lawyer John Marsh said: ‘He was acting as a carer for his friend for seven years and when he passed away there was a big void in his life. He has a bad relationship with alcohol and has to been to see a GP who has put him in touch with a community alcohol team.
‘He is not a traditionally irresponsible man and this has been a wake up call. The driving was bad and I accept that but it was over a relatively short space of time and fortunately it was in the early hours of the morning and the roads were deserted. He is lucky not to have been hurt in the incident.
‘He accepts this was a dangerous piece of driving. A friend had rang him up in great distress saying that his wife had not come and so he drove to see his friend and they were going to go and review some CCTV footage.
‘He didn’t beep his horn to antagonise the police but to alert his friend that he was there.’
Meadowcroft was given six months jail suspended for 15 months, was banned from driving for a year and was ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work.
The judge Mr Recorder Geoffrey Lowe said: ‘You drove the car so dangerously that officers felt there was a safety fear to you, and more importantly others. In a built up area you drove at 75mph – anything could have happened and it is only by good fortune that something more serious didn’t happen.
‘Because of the nature of your driving you lost control and you were lucky because you were the person most at risk. This is a case that does cross the custody threshold but I am told you are receiving medical help for depression.
‘The amount of alcohol you drink is eye-watering and you clearly have a problem. Clearly it seems to me that alcohol has begun this offending behaviour. You are still a young man and it seems to me this must be met with a custodial sentence but the public interest to me is for you to seek help for these underlying problems.’