AN ‘appalling’ driver who sped down the A34 the wrong way then broke his leg crashing after a police chase has been jailed.

Adam Marmont, of Hyde Meadow View, Witney, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday (April 16) for one count each of dangerous driving, driving without insurance, and driving while disqualified.

The 27-year-old was chased by police on April 4 this year in Witney for about 12 miles, including driving the wrong way on the A34.

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Sentencing the driver to two years imprisonment, Judge Michael Gledhill said: “You think you’re a good driver…I don’t describe you as that, you are an appalling driver.

“You’re a complete menace and if I could take you off the roads for the rest of your life I would. How you didn’t kill somebody I simply don’t know - you’re very lucky indeed.”

He added that he was ‘driving like a maniac’.

During the sentencing, it was heard that the defendant had reached speeds of about 80mph during the police chase in a black Jeep.

He was seen overtaking vehicles, driving the wrong way around roundabouts, and driving the wrong way on the A34.

Police attempted to perform their ‘stop technique’ on Marmont, causing his rear wheel to burst.

However, Marmont continued to perform ‘evasive’ manoeuvres on ‘essentially three tyres’, the court heard.

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In footage played for the judge, debris can be seen flying from the wheel with the ‘tyre smoking’.

Eventually, the defendant crashed into the rear of a vehicle on a single-track road before ending up in a ditch and breaking his leg.

During the footage being played, Marmont could be heard crying in the dock and ducking his head down so he didn’t have to watch.

It was heard that the defendant has 17 previous convictions for 60 offences, 18 of those being for driving while disqualified.

The most recent being in June 2023 in which he received a suspended sentencing, breaching it with this offence in April.

Defending Marmont, his barrister Derek Barry said his client has a ‘driving addiction’. He said: “Driving seems to be an addiction, a sense of freedom.

“He’s asked me to explain to the court that, in spite of the evidence and the opportunities he’s been given, he’s a man who can change.

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“He presents as a relatively young man with a good attitude. His driving addiction is terrifying…but he’s a man with hope.”

He was also disqualified from driving for six years and will need to pass an extended driving test.

Marmont will serve half his sentence in custody before being released on licence.