Speeding Bristol driver avoids jail as prisons almost full

Anthony Whiston was filmed speeding at 80mph through 20mph zones

A carpenter who caused a high-speed crash while fleeing police has been spared jail because the prison system is almost at capacity.

Anthony Whiston, 49, was filmed speeding at 80mph through 20mph zones in Bristol last August.

He ran multiple red lights before crashing head-on into another vehicle.

Whiston was handed a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months at Bristol Crown Court on 21 March, having admitting dangerous driving.

He further admitted failing to provide a sample of blood for analysis after the nine-minute chase.

As well as the suspended jail term, the defendant was handed a 21-month driving ban, 200 hours unpaid work and must abstain from alcohol for 90 days.

Police had to pull an unconscious Whiston from the wreckage of his car following the collision in the Bristol suburb of St George, and noted the smell of alcohol on his breath, the court was told.

When he woke up in hospital, he was described as "aggressively argumentative" and refused to provide a blood sample.

The driver of the other vehicle suffered a fractured index finger, fractured ribs and the temporary loss of hearing in one ear, the court was told.

Whiston was described as "aggressive and argumentative" when he came to after the crash

Jennifer Stetson, defending, said Whiston, of Hedwick Street in St George, had been under great financial stress at the time of the collision and had £30,000 credit card debt.

She said because he relies on his car for work he "panicked" when asked to pull over by police, as he was over the limit.

Judge Peter Blair KC told Whiston he "deserved prison" but stated new guidance on the capacity of the prison system "tipped the balance" in his favour.

The guidance refers to a recent ruling by Lord Justice Edis in which he quashed a six-month custodial term handed to a prisoner for throwing boiling water in the face of a guard.

Replacing the custodial term with a suspended sentence, Justice Edis disclosed the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab had warned senior judges the prison system was almost full.

At the start of March, the prison population stood at 83,990 in England and Wales, just 1,200 short of the full operational capacity.

Justice Edis stated "(this judgement) will principally apply to shorter sentences".

He added: "It will be a matter for the government to communicate to the courts when prison conditions have returned to a more normal state."

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