Dangerous driver jailed after crashing into pub during police chase

CCTV shows customers drinking and playing pool when Jamie Kettle’s Landrover Discovery ploughed into The Lockside pub in Worksop on March 27. The 37-year-old ran off after the collision and waded into a canal in an bid to avoid capture but he was located by specialist dog officers and arrested, Nottinghamshire Police said.

The moment Jamie Kettle crashed a stolen Landrover Discovery into The Lockside pub in Worksop (Nottinghamshire Police)

Kettle, of Thoresby Close, Harworth, was subsequently charged with aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, criminal damage to the pub, and two counts of theft from a shop, committed in Harworth on February 22 and March 2. He pleaded guilty to the offences and was jailed for two years at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, the force said. He was also banned from driving for three years and three months and must take an extended retest.

Kettle also admitted two counts of common assault of an emergency worker after he aggressively resisted two police officers who were called to a disturbance at an address in Bircotes on September 6 2022.

CCTV grab showing the moments before the car ploughed into the pub (Nottinghamhsire Police)

He bent one of the officer’s fingers back and spat at a second officer as they tried to defuse the situation.

Kettle also pleaded guilty to a charge of witness intimidation, relating to an address in the Retford area on June 2 2022, when he threatened to burn their house down. Sergeant Clint Gloyn, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Kettle’s dangerous and erratic driving showed utter disregard for the safety of others. “He continued to drive at speed in highly populated built-up areas before crashing into the pub.

There were numerous people inside the pub at the time and also walking through the town centre. “Extensive structural damage was caused to the pub but thankfully no-one was injured. “I’m glad we were able to bring this case before the courts and show that this type of criminality is unacceptable and offenders who put other people’s safety at risk in this way will be robustly dealt with.”

Police had received a report of a Landrover Discovery stolen from an address in Woodthorpe. Officers spotted and then followed the vehicle as it headed along the A614 towards Ollerton. After exiting onto the A57, Kettle hit speeds of up to 110mph, in a 60mph limit, as police gave chase.

He continued to drive dangerously, including overtaking vehicles at high speed, and going through red lights, before he drove into Worksop and collided with the pub wall, the force said.