THIS WEEK IN 1971: '˜Police in high speed Havant car chase'

On the day he came out of jail, a 19-year-old man went on a car-stealing jamboree which took him through nearly 20 counties and ended in an 80 mph chase through Havant, Petersfield magistrates heard.

By The Newsroom

Published 23rd Jan 2018, 06:00 BST

His three-day spree, in which he took six cars, including an MGB, Rover 2000 and Austin Healey, took him from Manchester to Cheshire, on to Stafford and Newport, Monmouthshire, and then after a full tour of Wales, south through Bristol and Bath to Portsmouth.

He escaped a police chase at Cwmbran, Monmouthshire, but after he stole 10 gallons of petrol from a garage on the A3 near Petersfield, the police were on his tail again, said the prosecution.

‘He drove a Rover 2000 at speeds between 75 and 80mph through Havant, chased by a police car.

The prosecution added: ‘He was driving in the centre of the road and eventually hit a Ford car which rolled up a bank and bounced back into the path of the police following.

‘Finally they caught up with him when his car hit the verge at the Warblington roundabout and came to rest just short of a lamp-post.’