A 19-YEAR-OLD Angus man who admitted endangering the lives of six police officers trying to stop him from driving a “borrowed” tractor/digger, was ordered to be detained for 10 months at Arbroath Sheriff Court yesterday.

Jason Dean Stephen, Midgrip Cottages, Hillside, by Montrose, was also disqualified from driving for three years by Sheriff William Gallacher, who described his behaviour as “utterly disgraceful.”

Stephen previously admitted that on March 30, on the A935 Montrose to Brechin road, on the unclassified Glenskinno Farm road, on Dubton Road and on other roads, he drove away a tractor/digger while disqualified and without insurance and did so while subject to bail.

Stephen also admitted:

Assaulting and endangering the life of PC Jonathan Neate by driving the tractor/digger through a closed gate at his car, obliging him to drive off to avoid a collision and pursuing the car with the digger arms activated in an attempt to strike it.

Assaulting and endangering the life of Sergeant Ewen Mackintosh, who was on foot, obliging him to jump out of the way, and driving between police vehicles occupied by PC Neate and fellow officers Susan Falconer, Simon Carter, Colin Cunningham and Harvey Birse, with the digger arms activated.

Driving the tractor/digger at PC Neate’s car, obliging him to reverse at speed then exit the vehicle, then driving at PC Neate when he was on foot, obliging him to take refuge behind a car.

Driving at the car occupied by PCs Cunningham and Birse, obliging them to reverse and exit their vehicle, then pursuing them and activating the digger arms as PCs Cunningham and Birse approached the tractor/digger.

Fiscal David Cobb told the court that the alarm was first raised when CCTV cameras spotted the accused on a local building site at around 5.20am.

Police were called and came across Stephen in the JCB-type vehicle on the A935.

Officers activated their blue lights in an attempt to get Stephen to stop but he drove past them, initiating a pursuit.

In an attempt to evade police, the accused drove the digger into a field where a number of the offences took place.

Mr Cobb described the accused “retaliating” at officers by operating the digger’s front and rear arms, causing them to abandon their vehicles and dive for cover.

The court heard that one of the officers was forced to reverse so quickly that he ended up putting his vehicle into a ditch.

As the accused continued driving towards the stricken officer he shouted, “You’re vehicle’s insured, but you…aren’t.”

The accused eventually made his way from the field after attempts to block him in were unsuccessful.

A police “stinger” trap was also avoided after the accused changed his route while heading towards the A90 dual carriageway.

The incident was eventually brought to an end in another field shortly before 7am when officers successfully smashed the window of the digger’s cab and used both CS spray and extendable batons on the accused to bring him to submission.

The court heard that three officers had sustained minor injuries.

Defence agent Hamish Watt said that his client suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism on the Asperger’s scale which meant that his thought processes were “generally totally illogical”.

Sheriff Gallagher said that there was no alternative to a period of detention.

“It was utterly disgraceful to behave in the way that you did,” said the sheriff.

“Operating that digger in the way you did was designed to cause the police to back off and that cannot be tolerated in any way.”