Britain’s fastest getaway driver almost outran police helicopter as he reached 180mph in £85,000 stolen sports car

• Officers caught Ben Westwood as he tried to flee from bungled petrol station raid
• Court heard that thief drove in the wrong direction down a motorway slip road at 70mph towards a police car
• Westwood is Britain’s fastest getaway driver - beating the previous record of 172mph
• Officers saw Westwood’s stolen Audi parked in the vicinity of a string of raids in Staffordshire
• He was jailed in 2007 for four-and-a-half years for being part of a gang who stole a fleet of luxury cars
  

Ben Westwood, 33, reached speeds of more than twice the national limit as he fled from a police helicopter

A getaway driver hit speeds of up to 180mph as he attempted to flee from police – and is thought to be the fastest driver ever prosecuted in the UK.
Ben Westwood, 33,  almost outran a police helicopter, which recorded sparks and flames coming from the underside of the stolen and modified Audi RS5, a court heard.
Westwood approached the car’s 200mph top speed during the 65-mile chase on the M6.
Officers had pursued him after they spotted his gang trying to rob a cash machine in Penn, West Midlands, on January 13.
The £85,000 vehicle was found abandoned in Wolverhampton. Westwood was caught nearby.
Officers linked the car, which has a Lamborghini engine and is one of only two in the country, to 15 smash-and-grab raids across the Midlands between August 2011 and January that netted over £50,000.
Westwood, of Wednesfield, was found guilty of dangerous driving and conspiracy to burgle and to steal at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday and will be sentenced on August 23.
CCTV footage of the audacious escape attempt showed sparks and flames coming from the underside and rear of the white Audi RS5 as Westwood  weaved precariously in and out of traffic.
At one stage Westwood drove in the wrong direction down a motorway slip road at 70mph towards a police car that was forced to veer out of the way.
He was finally caught hiding in a flat near where he dumped the car an hour later.
Officers seized the vehicle - which is one of only two in the country - and it was then linked to 15 similar smash and grab raids covering four different counties between August 2011 and January this year.
During the trial, it emerged that Westwood attempted to disguise the car by giving it false plates and respraying it from white to silver and then to black.
Stefan Kolodynski, prosecuting, told the court Westwood sped away after officers boxed in a white Ford Transit van which was also used in the raid.

The luxury RS5 Audi saloon matched a vehicle stolen in a car key burglary in Stourport, Worcester, overnight on August 3, 2011

Westwood managed to flee with another man in the Audi sports car but was pursued by a BMW West Midlands Police car and the force helicopter towards the M6 motorway.
He drove the stolen car on the northbound carriageway before taking an exit and doubling back on the southbound carriageway.
Mr Kolodynski said: 'Despite the BMW being a powerful car, it was absolutely no match for the Audi.
'It was driven for over an hour before it eventually stopped. The driving was dangerous.
'During the chase it almost outran a police helicopter as it reached speeds of nearing 180mph.'
The Audi had its headlights switched off as it cut through small town roads and even passed Westwood’s house, before being dumped nearby.
Westwood was caught hiding in a flat in Wolverhampton after the 65 mile high speed chase.
When officers examined the car they discovered it had clocked up 1,500 miles since it was stolen.
Today it emerged Westwood was Britain’s fastest getaway driver - beating the previous record of a motorist being caught travelling at 172mph.
The court heard officers saw Westwood’s stolen Audi parked in the vicinity of a string of raids in Staffordshire, West Midlands and Shropshire.

CCTV footage of the petrol station raid on January 13 - officers caught Westwood after swooping on the gang during the bungled robbery

Another CCTV still from the raid at the petrol station. Westwood was found guilty of dangerous driving and conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal

This CCTV image shows a member of Westwood's gang clambering over the counter at the petrol station

The luxury saloon matched a vehicle stolen in a car key burglary in Stourport, Worcs., overnight on August 3, 2011.
The court heard the car had a Lamborghini engine, a specially designed panoramic glass roof, racing car brakes and a top speed of 200mph.
Four other men who were also arrested in connection with the raid admitted conspiracy to steal and will be sentenced later this month.
Westwood was jailed in 2007 for four-and-a-half years for being part of a gang who stole a fleet of luxury cars by pinching the keys from people’s homes.
A spokesman West Midlands Police said: 'Westwood is a significant target for us to take out of circulation.
'The level of criminality he has been convicted of is of significance not just to the West Midlands and Staffordshire but to the whole region.
'The Audi was specifically stolen because it could out run police cars.
'The offences we have been able to prove are probably just the tip of the iceberg of the true number of those that this car was involved in.'
Westwood was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on August 23.