Halifax burglar part of sophisticated Boots break-in pursued in high speed police car chase

Scott Green was spotted on CCTV by officers before they chased him through 30 mph-limit residential areas where he hit speeds of up to 75 mph, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Matthew Stuart said the alarms were triggered at the chemists on Beastfair at around 6.45pm on January 31, 2021.

A 2ft x 2ft hole was made in the wall of the chemists, and two men were seen getting into a Seat Leon, which police quickly caught up with.

It went through a red light and began overtaking cars on blind corners as it accelerated away, chased by the police.

It reached 75mph through parts of Castleford town centre, and was later abandoned near the town's railway station with men then seen entering Carlton Lanes Shopping Centre.

Green was later found hiding nearby, and a head torch, gloves and walkie talkies were found.

The 32-year-old gave a no-comment interview, but his clothes matched the man seen getting behind the wheel of the Seat before it fled from police.

It is not known what, if anything, was stolen from Boots.

Green, of Cousin Lane, Halifax, has three previous convictions for five offences, including a non-dwelling burglary and drug dealing.

He was also convicted of assaults for which he received nine months' jail suspended for two years. He was in breach of his suspended sentence at the time he committed the Boots burglary.

He admitted a charge of burglary and in mitigation, his barrister Joanne Lata said: "He is extremely embarrassed and ashamed for what has happened.

"He is not somebody who is brought before the court every week, every month or every year.

"He fell on hard times and made a stupid decision to allow himself to be involved in something of this nature."

But Judge Simon Batiste told him that jail was inevitable.

He said: "The only sentence that can be possibly justified is one of an immediate custodial sentence.

"You became involved in a highly-sophisticated robbery. Your role may have been less than others but there must a strong deterrent element."

He gave him 20 months' jail for the robbery, and triggered six months of the existing suspended sentence he received for the assaults.

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