
Driver of 100mph ‘rogue' electric car charged with driving offence
Owen reportedly said he was on his way home from work on the first day of his job as a children's support worker and feared he would die or kill someone else during the journey.
After he called 999, road policing units scrambled to intercept the runaway vehicle as it reached speeds of up to 100mph on the M58/M57 and M62 motorways on the afternoon of March 6 last year.
An urgent police operation was launched and the Jaguar was surrounded by police cars from Merseyside Police and Greater Manchester Police for 35 minutes before the vehicle was finally boxed in and brought to a safe stop.
Police say after an extensive investigation Owen has now been charged with dangerous driving, causing a public nuisance and two counts of fraud by false representation.
In a statement, Merseyside Police said: 'We have charged a man following an incident involving a black Jaguar I-Pace car on the M62 in March 2024.
'On the afternoon of Wednesday March 6, officers from the force's roads policing unit were called to help stop a vehicle safely on the eastbound carriageway after the driver called 999 reporting his vehicle was out of control and he could not brake while travelling on the M58/M57 and M62 motorways.
'Following an extensive investigation, we have charged Nathan Owen, 32, of The Grove, Prestatyn, North Wales, with dangerous driving, causing a public nuisance and two counts of fraud by false representation.'
Owen will appear in court on August 13.

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The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Manchester Airport case jurors urged to ‘not be distracted' by officer's actions
Jurors have been urged by prosecutors to 'not be distracted' by the kick and stamp of a police officer during a fracas at Manchester Airport. Mobile phone footage of the incident on July 23 last year was shared on social media and went viral. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of assaulting three police officers and a member of public before he was felled by a Taser strike. Greater Manchester Police officers Pc Zachary Marsden, Pc Lydia Ward and Pc Ellie Cook entered the Terminal 2 car park paystation after reports that a male fitting Amaaz's description had headbutted a member of the public inside the airport minutes earlier. The Crown says Amaaz resisted and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, intervened as a 'high level of violence' was inflicted on the officers. In his closing speech to the jury on Thursday, prosecutor Paul Greaney KC said it was 'simple logic and common sense' that what happened subsequently was 'irrelevant as to why the defendants used the force they did'. He said: 'We don't shy away from that kick and stamp by Pc Marsden. However, what does that kick, what does that stamp have to do with your task? 'The defence suggest, at least as we understood it, that the kick and stamp and other aspects of the aftermath reveal that the officers were out of control from start to finish. 'We suggest from all of what you have seen and all of what you have heard from these three professional officers when they gave evidence is that you can be sure that the suggestion that they were out of control is false and wrong. 'We invite you to focus on the violence used by the defendants and not be distracted by what happened afterwards. That's what it is, a distraction and an example of an effort to try to complicate what is a simple case.' He said the claims by Amaaz that he did not realise that Pc Ward and Pc Cook were women when he struck them was a 'barefaced lie'. Pc Ward suffered a broken nose as she was floored by a punch to the face and Pc Cook was also knocked to the ground by a number of elbows and punches, the court has heard. Mr Greaney told jurors: 'Of course we know you will make fair allowance for the fast-moving and dynamic events but the suggestion he didn't know they were women cannot exist in the world we inhabit.' Mr Greaney said Amaad had 'no legitimate reason to seek to prevent the officers from carrying out their duty particularly in the circumstances where it must have been obvious his brother was resisting arrest'. His claims that he thought his brother was being choked by Pc Marsden was 'demonstrably untrue', said the prosecutor. Mr Greaney said the officers were doing what the law entitled them to do in their plan to seek to move Amaaz from the paystation area and then tell him outside he was under arrest. He said: 'What was going through their minds is we have a duty to perform and we are going to perform it. 'Conversely, what was going through the mind of the first defendant, Amaaz, was that he plainly knew that the people taking hold of him were police officers. He had just attacked a man in public in an international airport. What he did think they were there for?' Both defendants, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny the allegations and say they were lawfully acting in self defence or in defence of each other. Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden and Pc Ward, causing them actual bodily harm. He is also accused of the assault of emergency worker Pc Cook, and the earlier assault by beating of a member of the public, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, at a Starbucks cafe in T2 arrivals. Amaad is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden, causing actual bodily harm.

South Wales Argus
31 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Manchester Airport case jurors urged to ‘not be distracted' by officer's actions
Mobile phone footage of the incident on July 23 last year was shared on social media and went viral. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of assaulting three police officers and a member of public before he was felled by a Taser strike. Greater Manchester Police officers Pc Zachary Marsden, Pc Lydia Ward and Pc Ellie Cook entered the Terminal 2 car park paystation after reports that a male fitting Amaaz's description had headbutted a member of the public inside the airport minutes earlier. The Crown says Amaaz resisted and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, intervened as a 'high level of violence' was inflicted on the officers. In his closing speech to the jury on Thursday, prosecutor Paul Greaney KC said it was 'simple logic and common sense' that what happened subsequently was 'irrelevant as to why the defendants used the force they did'. He said: 'We don't shy away from that kick and stamp by Pc Marsden. However, what does that kick, what does that stamp have to do with your task? 'The defence suggest, at least as we understood it, that the kick and stamp and other aspects of the aftermath reveal that the officers were out of control from start to finish. 'We suggest from all of what you have seen and all of what you have heard from these three professional officers when they gave evidence is that you can be sure that the suggestion that they were out of control is false and wrong. 'We invite you to focus on the violence used by the defendants and not be distracted by what happened afterwards. That's what it is, a distraction and an example of an effort to try to complicate what is a simple case.' He said the claims by Amaaz that he did not realise that Pc Ward and Pc Cook were women when he struck them was a 'barefaced lie'. Pc Ward suffered a broken nose as she was floored by a punch to the face and Pc Cook was also knocked to the ground by a number of elbows and punches, the court has heard. Mr Greaney told jurors: 'Of course we know you will make fair allowance for the fast-moving and dynamic events but the suggestion he didn't know they were women cannot exist in the world we inhabit.' Mr Greaney said Amaad had 'no legitimate reason to seek to prevent the officers from carrying out their duty particularly in the circumstances where it must have been obvious his brother was resisting arrest'. His claims that he thought his brother was being choked by Pc Marsden was 'demonstrably untrue', said the prosecutor. Mr Greaney said the officers were doing what the law entitled them to do in their plan to seek to move Amaaz from the paystation area and then tell him outside he was under arrest. He said: 'What was going through their minds is we have a duty to perform and we are going to perform it. 'Conversely, what was going through the mind of the first defendant, Amaaz, was that he plainly knew that the people taking hold of him were police officers. He had just attacked a man in public in an international airport. What he did think they were there for?' Both defendants, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny the allegations and say they were lawfully acting in self defence or in defence of each other. Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden and Pc Ward, causing them actual bodily harm. He is also accused of the assault of emergency worker Pc Cook, and the earlier assault by beating of a member of the public, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, at a Starbucks cafe in T2 arrivals. Amaad is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden, causing actual bodily harm.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Mapped: The areas of the UK with the highest levels of crime revealed
Police forces recorded 6.6 million crimes in England and Wales in the past year, official figures show, including a sharp increase in shoplifting. The total is up from 6.1 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019-2020, and from 4.2 million a decade earlier in 2014-2015, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures published by the ONS used data collected as part of the Crime Survey for England and Wales. It showed the number of crimes against individuals and households in England and Wales rose to around 9.4 million in the year ending March 2025. The number of shoplifting offences surged to the highest figure since current police recording practices began in 2003. Some 530,643 offences were logged in 2024/25, up 20 per cent from 2023/24. Theft from the person offences also remain at record levels, with 151,220 recorded by forces in the year to March, up 15 per cent from 131,584 in the previous 12 months. Meanwhile, the number of homicides dropped by six per cent to 535 offences, the lowest level recorded in more than a decade. The Independent has put together the maps below showing total crime, homicides, sexual offences and shoplifting broken down by police force areas in England and Wales: The Metropolitan Police recorded the highest number of crimes last year, with 942,674 offences logged across London. Greater Manchester Police followed with just over 319,000 offences, while West Midlands Police came third highest with nearly 309,000. At the other end, City of London Police, covering the small financial district, recorded just over 9,000 crimes, the lowest of any force. Cumbria Constabulary had around 37,000 offences, and Dyfed-Powys in Wales logged about 38,000. The Metropolitan Police also saw the highest number of homicides, with 104 killings over the year. West Midlands Police recorded 31, and Greater Manchester Police reported 27. The country's biggest police force also saw the highest number of sexual offences, with more than 55,000 recorded incidents. West Yorkshire Police came next with around 46,000, followed by Greater Manchester Police with almost 43,500. Shoplifting was also concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas. London again topped the list with nearly 94,000 offences, West Midlands Police recorded around 32,700, and West Yorkshire Police logged roughly 22,700 incidents. Retail bosses have warned that official statistics are likely to be the tip of the iceberg, and that shop owners need to see immediate results as ministers have pledged thousands more officers for neighbourhood policing. The ONS said that because these estimates are still in development and are subject to change, caution should be taken when making comparisons between the two years, and it is not possible to say whether the difference is statistically significant. Home secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'This summer our new neighbourhood policing guarantee means over 500 town centres are getting extra neighbourhood patrols and action on town centre crime, and we are delivering the first 3,000 increase in neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in communities by next spring.' The Crime Survey for England and Wales covers a range of personal and household victim-based crime, including theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse and violence with or without injury, but does not include sexual offences, stalking, harassment and domestic abuse, which are presented separately. Experiences of theft, criminal damage and violence with or without injury, as measured by the ONS survey, have been on a broad downwards trend since the mid-1990s.