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A van stolen from Sheffield met its end when it was rammed it into the barriers on the M1 as part of a high speed chase.

The van’s occupants, Robert Wingate and Deimantas Palaima, caused up to £100,000 of damage during the life-threatening incident in the early hours of December 2, 2021. Four police vehicles were damaged during the pursuit after the Mercedes Sprinter van, which stolen from an address in Sheffield and on cloned plates, was followed on the M1 into Nottinghamshire.

Nottingham Crown Court heard yesterday (February 14) how the driver failed to stop and, as the van head further north from J21, police squads from Derbyshire and Leicestershire joined the pursuit as they tried to bring the offending to a safe conclusion.

As it approached Junction 26 at Nuthall, Nottinghamshire officers took the lead and tried to box in the van, only for a Nottinghamshire police car to swerve and hit the barrier at speed.

Robert Wingate, top right, and Deimantas Palaima were both jailed after destroying a police car by ramming it into crash barriers at speed using a van that itself was stolen from Sheffield with cloned plates.

The two officers inside were not seriously injured but the squad car was damaged beyond repair.

Another Nottinghamshire car was damaged after a wheel came off the rammed vehicle and hit it.

As the van approached Junction 37, just outside Barnsley, South Yorkshire, it hit a stinger device and was finally brought to a stop on the hard shoulder. When the two menw ere arrested, police found a hoard of stolen kitchen equipment in the back of the van.

The driver of the van, Wingate, 24, of HMP Hull, admitted handling stolen goods, aggravated vehicle taking, two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm and four counts of criminal damage. He was jailed for a total of three years and nine months. He was also banned from driving for three years.

Palaima, 19, of Middleton, Leeds, filmed the pursuit on his phone and gesticulated to officers as the van rammed into police vehicles. The court heard he “encouraged Wingate to drive as he did”, with both men described as “posing an enormous risk to the general public”.

Palaima admitted handling stolen goods, aggravated vehicle taking (being carried), two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm and one count of criminal damage.

He was locked up for a total of 25 months and banned from driving for 25 months.

Van stolen from Sheffield ends up rammed into barriers on M1 during high-speed chase by two men