A MOTORIST was told that his actions behind the wheel put members of the public and police officers at risk.

Sharell Harry drove in a dangerous and reckless manner while on the motorway passing through Warrington.

The 32-year-old was caught however following a pursuit by police and subsequently charged with dangerous driving.

He also faced counts of failing to stop for police, possessing cannabis and driving without third-party insurance when he appeared at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, May 9.

Leanne Gallagher, prosecuting, explained to the court how all of the offence occurred on September 29.

Harry was driving a black Citroën C3 on the M6 northbound at junction 20 for Lymm when he failed to stop the vehicle on being required to do so by a police constable in uniform.

He then proceeded to drive the vehicle, which was not third-party insured, in a dangerous way, while he was later found to be in possession of a quantity of the controlled Class B drug cannabis.

Before sentencing, magistrates remarked that the severity of the series of offences merited a custodial sentence.

This was due to the risk posed to the general public through the defendant’s driving on the motorway and the fact that there was also a passenger in the vehicle.

However, taking his guilty pleas into account, his lack of previous convictions and his ‘real prospect of rehabilitation’, it was determined that the sentence could be suspended.

Harry, of Hall Lane in Chingford, London, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 150 hours of unpaid work, while an order was approved for the forfeiture and destruction of the cannabis seized by police.

In addition, the defendant was disqualified from driving for 18 months and must pass an extended retest before getting behind the wheel again.