Two crooks who stole a Mercedes car have been jailed following a 115mph police chase  which ended in a dramatic  crash.

Sharp-eyed officers spotted the  Merc SLK on Hoole Road after police  were alerted by the owners who  heard their vehicle being taken from the driveway of their Kilmorey Park  home, Chester, at 2.30am on August  15.

The driver refused to pull over and  continued on to the M53 and M56 but  the car crashed in spectacular style  after exiting the Hapsford junction at  an estimated 115mph where it collided with the barrier.

Pursuing officers hit the broken  barrier which acted like a giant  spring and propelled the £40,000 unmarked BMW into a ditch. The car  was written-off but miraculously  neither officer was injured.

Passenger Lee Montague, 20, of  Toxteth, Liverpool, was found unconscious in the car and taken to the  intensive care unit of the Countess of  Chester Hospital but later recovered.

Lee Montague, 20, was sent to a young offenders’ institute for two years after being convicted at Chester Crown Court
Lee Montague, 20, was sent to a young offenders’ institute for two years after being convicted at Chester Crown Court

Driver Jamal Mhagrh, 21, of Kensington, Liverpool, suffered a serious  head injury but with adrenalin  coursing through his veins staggered  150 yards into a field where he collapsed. He was only found thanks to a  police sniffer dog and may otherwise  have lain undiscovered.

Jamal Mhagrh was sentenced to two years in prison
Jamal Mhagrh was sentenced to two years in prison

He spent 48 hours in a coma at  Fazakerley Hospital but made a full  recovery.

Last week Montague was sent to a  young offenders’ institute for two  years after being convicted at  Chester Crown Court of burglary  and aggravated vehicle taking. He  was also disqualified from driving  for 12 months.

Mhagrh was sentenced to two years  in prison for burglary and asked for  two other burglaries at St Helens and  Ellesmere Port to be taken into consideration in which cars were also  stolen. He was also given six months  for aggravated vehicle taking and  banned from driving for three  years. 

Police say the men stole the Mercedes after forcing a rear kitchen  window and using a large pole from  the garden to hook the car keys from  the kitchen table.

DC Damian Tierney, of Chester  Proactive CID, said: “We are very  pleased with the court’s decision to  sentence Mhagrh and Montague to a  lengthy prison sentence each. Burglary offences can be very impactive  on victims, and we take this offence  very seriously and leave no stone  unturned in our pursuit of burglary  offenders.”