Drug-using driver mowed down and dragged police officers as he fled Leeds-park music festival
A driver high on laughing gas tried to escape police at a music festival by mowing down officers and dragging them along the ground.
Former scaffolder Liam Webster was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week for the sickening incident at Temple Newsam.
The 28-year-old had been at the Mint Festival on May 3 - a dance festival - but security picked him up on CCTV in an Audi S3 with three others in the car park.
They were seen to be inhaling nitrous oxide from balloons. The gas was made illegal to possess in 2023 and is now categorised as a Class C drug.
The police were alerted and they moved in to make arrests, but Webster took off, swerving around a barrier and heading down a dirt track.
He stopped and tried to reverse when he got to another metal barrier where two officers were stood.
Webster then purposely drove forward through the barrier, but the officers were unable to get out of the way and were dragged along the floor for around four metres.
The detached barrier then collided with a police vehicle causing more than £3,800 of damage.
The officers were lucky to escape with cuts and bruises, the court heard.
Webster, of Crawford Avenue, Bradford, was later identified from the security footage and arrested.
He has 18 previous convictions for 56 offences, including robbery, fraud and battery.
He admitted dangerous driving, two counts of ABH against the officers, criminal damage, driving while disqualified and driving without a licence.
He appeared in court over a video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand.
Mitigating, Harry Crowson said Webster had suffered horrendous trauma from the death of his child.
He said Webster was also attacked with a knife in 2024 and has not been able to go back to work as a scaffolder.
Judge Robin Mairs told Webster: “It was by sheer luck rather than design that the injuries [of the officers] was limited to cuts and bruises.
“You deliberately decided that what was most important was your escape.
“You were quite prepared to put two police officers in danger of really serious injury.”
He handed him a 42-month jail sentence, and 57-month driving ban.