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Man jailed following Thatcham police chase By Adam Flinn A PADWORTH man who led police on a chase through Thatcham in which he crashed into a road sign and traffic island has been sentenced to 54 weeks in prison. Phillip Ruta, of Fallows Road, pleased guilty to dangerous driving following the late morning chase on the streets of Thatcham on March 5 last year. The 26-year-old had failed to stop his black Audi A3 for police at around 11.45am, leading to a pursuit along Victor Road, Park Avenue, the A4 and The Moors. It was at The Moors where Ruta mounted the pavement and collided with a road sign, but he continued and shortly afterwards crashed into a traffic island. Ruta eventually stopped the car in Kestrel Close and was arrested. He was charged on August 11 last year. At Reading Crown Court earlier this month Ruta was jailed for 54
weeks and disqualified from driving for three years and 27 weeks. He was also ordered to take an extended retest if he wishes to obtain a new licence at the end of his disqualification. Ruta had also pleaded guilty to one count of failing to provide a specimen for analysis. Investigating officer PC Nick Easener, of the investigation hub based at Newbury police station, said: “This case was almost certainly one of the worst examples of dangerous driving I have ever dealt with in a very long and varied career. “The standard of driving displayed by Ruta was absolutely abysmal and showed a complete disregard for the safety of all other road users. “It was pure luck that nobody was seriously injured or major damage caused. “I believe that the sentence issued by the court highlights just how dangerous the manner of Ruta’s driving was and how little respect he showed for anybody else.”
TAKE ONE
Trainer Heather Main with Al Kout, her yard’s ‘top tenor’
Headliney Headliney Headliney
Mozart turns racehorses into winners A racehorse trainer based near Lambourn has come up with an unusual new way to help turn her horses into winners. Heather Main, a trained opera singer,
has started singing Mozart arias to them, and says that the horses join in with her. And it is proving successful. Heather secured a 440-1 treble with three
horses at Newbury and Chepstow recently – leading a top equine psychologist to say she had found a remarkable formula. See page 3 for full story
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