Banned driver topped 155mph in £60k stolen car

Serxho Bebja was jailed for two years and six months at Carlisle Crown Court

A banned driver who topped speeds of 155mph as he fled police in a stolen £60,000 car fitted with false number plates has been jailed.

Serxho Bebja raced the Audi down the M6 in north Cumbria in November 2023, before it was reported crashed and abandoned on the B5305, close to the village of Unthank, near Penrith.

The 27-year-old, of Tarling Road, East London, admitted to handling stolen goods, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and having no insurance.

He was jailed for two years and six months at Carlisle Crown Court and will serve an 18-month driving ban when released, having to pass an extended test before his licence is returned.

The court heard how the red Audi RS saloon was stolen by an intruder who broke into a man's home in Fife on 19 November.

In the hours after the car was stolen, it came into the possession of convicted robber Bebja.

Two days later, the Audi, being driven by Bebja, was spotted speeding southbound, near Southwaite services.

'Left relatively unscathed'

Despite a police officer ordering Bebja to stop, he accelerated away, the court heard.

The car reached speeds in excess of 155mph on the motorway and then, on A and B roads on the outskirts of Penrith, was driven at 110mph.

Three officers gave chase but lost sight of the Audi, before it was reported crashed and abandoned just after 00:40 GMT.

Data from a deployed airbag showed the vehicle was travelling at 99mph five seconds before impact, and that the driver had not been wearing a seatbelt.

Inside was a mobile phone belonging to Bebja and a bank card in his name. His postcode was also listed on a sat-nav on the phone.

The court heard his criminal record included robbery, dangerous driving and cannabis possession with intent to supply, and he had previously been given a lengthy driving ban.

Anthony Parkinson, mitigating, said Bebja was an otherwise hard-working man who was employed in the family business as an administrator, and had suffered ill health following a motorbike accident when he was 18.

Sentencing, Recorder Ciaran Rankin said: "It is quite remarkable you weren't wearing a seat belt, yet you seem to leave the vehicle relatively unscathed.

"You are extremely lucky not to have received significant, if not life-changing, injuries."