Worthing Man Spared Jail After Colliding With Police Car

A Worthing man has pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including dangerous driving and making threats to kill, after colliding with a police car while attempting to flee from officers.

Michael Scott-Smith, 46, of Rowlands Road, was sentenced at Crawley Magistrates’ Court to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months. He was also handed a 12-month driving ban, a restraining order, and ordered to pay £100 in compensation.

Sussex Police’s Specialist Enforcement Unit attempted to stop Scott-Smith’s vehicle at around 11:20 am on Friday, March 14. The driver failed to comply and made off from the scene, before colliding with a police car. Officers later found the vehicle abandoned on Browning Road and discovered Scott-Smith hiding in a garden on Heene Road, where he was arrested.

At his court appearance on Monday, March 17, Scott-Smith admitted to making threats to kill, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without a valid licence, and driving without insurance. In addition to the suspended sentence, he was placed under a restraining order and prohibited from driving for a further year.