Police officer hurt after stolen car rammed patrol vehicle in Sunderland

Robert Wood, 21, was behind the wheel of a stolen Nissan Qashqai which he drove through a red light, travelled at speed, in an "erratic manner" and tried to get away from police in Sunderland in August last year.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the Qashqai had been stolen from a house in Easington just hours before the early morning pursuit.

Prosecutor Joe Culley told the court as the vehicle approached Dene House Farm in Sunderland, with two police cars on its tail, it stopped and a passenger

jumped out.

Mr Culley said: "The police officers began to exit their cars and the Qashqai began reversing and rammed a police vehicle, with some force.

"A police constable was jolted in the process of getting out, lost his footing in the impact and landed on the footpath, causing injury.

"He was in pain and discomfort, his nose was bleeding.

"There was extensive damage to the police vehicle."

The court was told the Qashqai was written off in the impact.

Wood, of Milburn Terrace, Shiney Row, admitted dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking.

The court also heard that Wood was given a community order for assault on two emergency workers in April.

Mr Recorder Toby Hedworth QC sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation requirements.

The judge told him: "You have claimed you have no recollection of what you were doing that night because of the drugs you had taken.

"I am satisfied, having watched the recording of the pursuit that took place, that you were certainly well in control of your faculties because of the manner you drove to try and outrun the police."

The judge said Wood's jail term could be suspended due to his underlying mental health difficulties.

John Crawford, defending, told the court that Wood is "someone who can move his life forward in a more productive manner" and has "made progress moving his life very much in the right direction".