A man who risked the lives of innocent motorists on the M56 has been handed a suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of dangerous driving.

Harvey Schofield appeared at Chester Magistrates Court on Thursday, February 22 where he was handed a 12-week suspended jail sentence, 200 hours community service and a £620 fine.

The 53-year-old from Offerton, in Greater Manchester, was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to take an extended driving test.

The case against him came about after a concerned member of the public submitted dashcam footage which showed him driving dangerously as he travelled on the M56 in Cheshire on Thursday, March 30, last year.



It is believed to be the first case of its kind in Cheshire where a motorist has been prosecuted for dangerous driving as a result of dashcam footage and PC Liz Thompson from the Serious and Complex Collision Investigation Unit at Cheshire police said it would not have been possible to prosecute without the support of the person who submitted the clip.

“I would like to thank the member of the public who submitted the footage," she said. "It clearly showed that Schofield deliberately undertook the tipper truck, then for no apparent reason deliberately pulled out into the path of the vehicle and intentionally slammed on his brakes.

“Thankfully the driver of the truck was able to stop his vehicle in time, and did not collide with Schofield’s car. However, I have no doubt that had it not been for the driver's quick-thinking actions, there could have been a serious collision, and the lives of innocent motorists could have been put at risk.”

David Keane, police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, added: “Dashcam footage is being used more and more by police to crack down on bad driving and help save lives. It is one of the innovative solutions police can use to prosecute those who are driving dangerously to ensure their actions don’t lead to serious injury or loss of life in the future.

“I would encourage residents of Cheshire, who have captured evidence of people committing traffic offences, to submit it to Cheshire Constabulary to help reduce the number of serious incidents on our roads.”

If you want to submit dashcam footage of incidents that have occurred on the Cheshire road network, visit here .