AN AUTISTIC teenager with a range of mental health problems escaped a jail sentence after being involved in a high speed police chase through a series of Chester villages.
Eighteen-year-old John Lis, of Clover Lane, Lache, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without insurance and without a licence.
Peter Hussey, prosecuting, told Chester Crown Court that Lis was driving his own Peugeot 306 car on the afternoon of August 5 this year when he was spotted by police on A55/A483 Wrexham road.
The court heard when the police tried to pull him over, instead of stopping, Lis speeded up and headed on to the B5445 towards Rossett.
Mr Hussey said he overtook cars on the inside and others on blind corners and he travelled through the village of Dodleston at 60mph in a 30mph zone.
Mr Hussey added: “At one point they noticed Mr Lis had his phone at his ear.
“It was when he was on Lache Lane, at the junction with Roughlyn Court, that the car stopped and the defendant handed over the keys. He had driven nine miles in ten minutes.”
Defending, James Bagby said: “Mr Lis sufferers with Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD and obsessive compulsive disorder, issues that have challenged him for years.”
“Mr Lis and his family had tried to find help before this incident but no one could help them. Through the probation service he will now get the help he needs.”
Judge Roger Dutton sentenced Lis to eight months in a young offenders’ institution, suspended for two years.
