Getaway driver who hit 180mph in 65-mile police chase after attempted robbery jailed for nine years

• Ben Westwood, 33, was the ringleader of a gang which carried out robberies across the Midlands
• He is believed to be the fastest speeding driver ever recorded in Britain
• He drove at high speed in a stolen Audi while trying to flee the scene of a raid on a cash machine in Wolverhampton
• Even a police helicopter struggled to keep pace with him
• Judge describes his driving as 'appalling' and 'atrocious'

Behind bars: Ben Westwood has been jailed for nine years after he drove at speeds of up to 180mph during a police chase

A getaway driver who hit speeds of 180mph during a 65-mile police chase was jailed yesterday.
Ben Westwood left a trail of sparks and flames as he fled from a robbery scene in a stolen Audi RS5.
During the pursuit on the M6, he almost outran a police helicopter and left officers in high-performance BMWs trailing in his wake. The 33-year-old is thought to be the fastest speeding driver ever to be prosecuted in the UK.
Westwood was caught on January 13 after police officers spotted him and his gang attempting to break open a cash machine at a Murco petrol station in Penn, West Midlands.
While three of the gang were arrested at the scene, the getaway driver and accomplice Gregory Simpson, 26, headed off in the Audi at speed towards the M6.
They managed to evade capture for more than an hour during the dramatic chase.
At one stage, Westwood drove the supercar in the wrong direction down a slip road at 70mph towards an onrushing police car. It avoided crashing by veering out of the way. Westwood eventually abandoned the £85,000 vehicle outside a block of flats in Wolverhampton, where he was found hiding with Simpson.

Fast car: Ben Westwood was driving this stolen Audi when he reached speeds of up to 180mph

Dramatic: Westwood's speeding car is shown in this infra red picture taken from above. Officers believe he was tryng to outrun the police helicopter

Pursuit: Westwood drove for 65 miles along the M6 motorway as he sped from police for more than an hour

The car – one of only two of its kind, fitted with a Lamborghini engine and race car brakes – is so distinctive officers managed to link it to 15 smash-and-grab raids across the Midlands that have earned the gang more than £50,000 in cigarettes, cash and jewellery since August last year.
When officers seized the car, which had been resprayed black and disguised with a false plate, they discovered it had clocked up 1,500 miles since it was stolen.

 

Sentencing Westwood, of Wednesfield, West Midlands to nine years in prison, Recorder Nigel Baker said the jail term reflected ‘an atrocious piece of dangerous driving’.
Stefan Kolodynski, prosecuting at Wolverhampton Crown Court, said: ‘Despite the BMW being a powerful car, it was absolutely no match for the Audi.

Struggling to keep up: The view from a police car chasing Ben Westwood, who was the leader of a gang which carried out a string of robberies across the West Midlands

Dangerous: Police pursue Westwood as he drives along a suburban road. At another point in the journey, he performed a U-turn on a motorway slip road

Robbery: A CCTV image of the raid on a petrol station which ended with Ben Westwood driving away at speeds of up to 180mph

Crime spree: Police linked the stolen Audi to more than a dozen raids carried out by Westwood's gang in four counties across the Midlands

‘It was driven for over an hour before it eventually stopped. The driving was dangerous.
‘The police helicopter indicated the Audi was reaching speeds of 180mph, maybe even faster.
‘It was highly likely that if he stayed on the motorway, then he would have outrun that helicopter.’ Westwood, who was jailed for dangerous driving, conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal, was said to be the leader of the gang.
He was previously jailed for four and a half years for being part of a gang which stole luxury cars by taking keys from owners’ homes.
Simpson, said to have been Westwood’s ‘lieutenant’, was sentenced to four years. Ramesh Sharma, 38, Stephen Green, 41, and Luke Watkins, 34, all received at least three years in jail for conspiracy to steal.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: ‘The Audi was specifically stolen because it could outrun 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.’

BEN WESTWOOD'S CRIME SPREE

August 3, 2011: Overnight. Audi RS5 stolen from Stourport, Worcestershire.

August 4, 2011: 3.20am. Co-op, Stafford, Staffordshire, raided. Stole £2,500 worth of cigarettes. Caused £300 damage.

September 2, 2011: 1.35am. Tesco, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Stole £5,352 worth of cigarettes.

September 22, 2011: 12.43am. Tesco, Heath Hayes, Staffordshire. Stole £5,500 worth of cigarettes. Caused £5,000 damage. Westwood caught on CCTV.

September 22, 2011: 1am. Co-op, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Stole £4,136 worth of cigarettes, Caused £1,300 damage.

September 28, 2011: Overnight. Tesco, Worcester, Worcestershire. Caused £200 damage to shutters. Nothing stolen.

September 28, 2011: 3.40am Co-op, Worcester, Worcestershire. Stole £4,000 worth of cigarettes. Caused £4,000 damage.

October 5, 2011: 5.20am. Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Stole £1,500 worth of coins from slot machines and caused £20,000 damage.

November 3, 2011: 2.50am. Spa store, Stourport. Worcestershire. Stole £2,000 worth of cigarettes. Caused £700 damage.

November 4, 2011: 2am Spar store, Stourport, Worcestershire. Stole £8,000 cigarettes, £1,000 alcohol, £400 stamps and £520 other goods. Caused £1,270 damage.

November 21, 2011: 4.15am. H Samuel jewellers, Walsall, West Midlands. Stole diamonds and jewellery worth £9,500. Audi captured on CCTV.

December 5, 2011: Tesco, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Stole £4000 worth of cigarettes.

December 22, 2011: 4.30am. Wood End Wines, Wednesfield, West Midlands. Stole £6,000 worth of cigarettes. Audi is seen painted black and used as getaway car.

January 2, 2012: 3.17am. Co-op, Rugeley, Staffordshire. Stole £7,200 of cigarettes. Caused £3,000 damage.

January 4, 2012: 3.59am. Sainsbury’s, Market Drayton, Shropshire. Stole £7,300 worth of cigarettes.
January 13, 2012: 3.15am. Failed bid to cut open ATM cash machine holding £21,000 on forecourt of Murco garage, Penn, West Midlands

Facing justice: Ben Westwood (left) is led away by a police officer after being caught hiding in a flat. He had abandoned his car nearby