A MOTORIST who took his partner’s Audi without permission was caught on CCTV as the car span out of control on a busy Carlisle road, narrowly missing a bus shelter.

Video footage of 28-year-old Ryan Warnock’s risky driving shows him speeding away from the Willowholme industrial estate on to Church Street at 6.30pm on Sunday, January 9 while the area was busy with traffic.

The Audi slewed across the road, span through 180 degrees, and then collided with a raised kerb beside a bus shelter, yards away from approaching pedestrians. A man riding an E-scooter was also nearby. 

After getting out of the car to check for damage, Warnock got back into the Audi and did a three-point turn before driving away, erratically weaving across the road and going through a red light.

He fled the scene after driving up a nearby road leading to a dead-end, Carlisle’s Rickergate court heard. The defendant, of Briar Bank, Belah, admitted aggravated vehicle taking with dangerous driving.

A probation officer who interviewed Warnock told the court that he had expressed remorse for his actions.

She suggested a programme of work to address the defendant’s cannabis use. “Though he has cut his cannabis use down, he wants to be completely abstinent,” said the officer.

She added that Warnock had been assessed as being at a “high risk of reoffending.”

“There had to have been danger to pedestrians in that sort of situation,”  conceded defence lawyer John Smith. But he said Warnock's bad driving was short-lived and happened over a relatively short distance. 

The lawyer said a custodial sentence would cause disruption to the defendant’s family given that Warnock was needed to support his partner and child. He had also found a new job with a reputable local firm.

"He tells me he's turning his life around," added Mr Smith.

District Judge John Temperley said that the offence merited a jail sentence but he was persuaded to suspend it. This was not because of the defendant’s personal circumstances. It was because of the potential impact of a jail term on the defendant's partner and their child.

Warnock was given a ten-weeks jail, suspended for 12 months. He must complete 30 days of rehabilitation in the next year and do 120 hours of unpaid work in the community as punishment.

The district judge also banned Warnock from driving for 18-months and told him to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge. There was no compensation for the minor damage caused to the Audi’s wheel arch as none was requested.

The judge told the defendant: “You’re not going inside today but this hasn’t gone away. You need to focus on your family and on your work.”

Warnock also admitted driving while uninsured, though he would have been insured if he had driven the car 12 hours later, said his lawyer. The minor damage to the Audi cost £300 to repair.