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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Neal Keeling

Dangerous driver who led police on 80mph chase is now a wanted man

A man who was jailed after an 80mph chase with police is now a wanted man. Ryan Lake was sentenced to ten months in prison in 2022 after admitting dangerous driving.

But after being released from prison he has breached the conditions of his licence and is now wanted on recall to prison. Lake, 30, is from the Warrington area but has links to St Helens and Manchester.

He was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court in July last year. The court was told he "regarded the road as his own" and reached high speeds in a 30mph zone, despite not even having a licence. The pursuit only ended when he crashed his car.

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He drew attention of police after overtaking an unmarked patrol car at speed on the M62 westbound at around 4pm on January 18th 2022 and also undertook several other vehicles while a 17-year-old family member and her friend rode as passengers.

Checks revealed that the Volkswagen Passat had been reported as stolen in August the previous year and was being driven with fake registration plates, although he claimed to have recently purchased it in Manchester and was not charged in relation to the theft. He then left the motorway at St Helens as the police chase began.

Lake drove on the wrong side of the road, through red lights and no-entry signs and took a blind junction at 40mph. His car came to a halt after he collided with a kerb. Lake was then found to only have a provisional licence, while roadside tests detected cannabis in his system. But he refused to provide a blood sample once in custody, claiming to be scared of needles.

Lake - who had 18 convictions for 27 offences, this being his first since 2018 - admitted dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving without a licence and failing to provide a specimen. The former warehouse worker had been hoping to start a new job in construction.

Lake, of Banks Crescent in Latchford, was jailed for 10 months and banned from driving for two years and five months. Sentencing, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said: "You were on the roads driving without a licence and insurance for an unspecified period of time. You panicked because you weren't insured and didn't have a licence. I've just seen the footage, which shows the reality of your driving.

"You just regarded that road as your own and didn't have any regard for anyone else on it. Time and time again, other motorists had to take evasive action. This was just sustained dangerous driving. These offence, in all the circumstances, demand an immediate custodial sentence and that's what must happen today."

Lake is white, around 5'll'' tall of medium build with short brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone who sees Lake or has information regarding his whereabouts is asked to contact Cheshire Police on 101 quoting occurrence number 22000769798.

Alternatively, information can be reported online at www.cheshire.police/tell-us, or anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111 or via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.

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