Sean Benjamin Clunis was tracked by the police helicopter running across Talbot Memorial Park and hiding in a Park Street garden
A DRIVER raced through residential streets at night at speeds touching 70mph in his high-powered Mercedes with the lights turned off in a bid to escape from police, a court heard.
Officers called off the pursuit when it became too dangerous to follow Sean Benjamin Clunis in his Mercedes E200, and the force helicopter took over.
He was eventually found hiding in a garden.
Swansea Magistrates Court heard that police first encountered Clunis on Commerical Road in Taibach at 1am on January 29 when his Merc pulled out in front of a patrol car, causing it to stop abruptly.
Sharon Anderson, prosecuting, said the officer began to follow Clunis and illuminated the blue flashing lights – but the defendant sped off.
The court heard the 31-year-old turned off the headlights on his car and began racing through the back streets of Taibach at speeds of 70mph, driving down the wrong side of the road and going straight through blind junctions without slowing down.
The pursuing office then called-off the chase because of the dangerous nature of Clunis' driving, and the force helicopter was called in.
Clunis was later spotted running across Talbot Memorial Park and into the gardens of properties on Park Street, where he was found hiding by officers.
He gave a positive roadside breathalyser test but when he was subsequently tested at the police station he was below the legal drink-drive limit.
Sean Benjamin Clunis pleaded guilty to dangerous driving when he appeared at Swansea Magistrates Court
In his police interview he said he turned the lights off on his car in the hope he could lose the pursuing officer.
Clunis, of Somerset Street, Port Talbot, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and to failing to stop when required to do so by a constable when he appeared before justices.
The court heard the defendant had previous convictions for dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.
Grayson Tanner, for Clunis, said his client had "turned his life around" after his previous offending and now ran a successful construction business.
Magistrates said the case was so serious they did not have the sentencing powers to deal with it, and they committed matters to Swansea Crown Court on March 13. Clunis was granted unconditional bail until that date.
Read more at http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/70mph-police-chase-through-port-talbot-called-off-when-it-became-too-dangerous/story-30139533-detail/story.html#VIgL05lOdbZH54Aw.99
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