Man banned from driving avoids jail after Hither Green moped chase

Nicholas Scantlebury, 42, has been given a suspended prison sentence after ramming vehicles during a police chase on Hither Green Lane. The incident occurred on April 8. Scantlebury, of Belmont Road in Erith, was riding a Honda moped when officers signalled for him to stop. He failed to do so and drove across a pavement, colliding with police vehicles.

At Woolwich Crown Court on October 1, Judge Elizabeth Baker sentenced Scantlebury to eight months in custody, suspended for 18 months. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without insurance, and driving while disqualified. The judge also ordered Scantlebury to be disqualified from driving for an additional 28 months.

Scantlebury was already banned from driving, having been convicted in 2021 for causing serious injury to a police officer by dangerous driving. His defence counsel stated that Scantlebury was suffering from paranoid delusions at the time of the April offence and believed his previous driving ban had expired. He had rented the moped to check his disqualification status, according to his defence.

Judge Baker noted Scantlebury's previous conviction and its serious consequences for his victim. Scantlebury was eventually detained on Lanier Road following the chase.