The vehicle wasn't exactly moving at high speed, more like a stately 12mph. Yet six police cars, a helicopter and three stinger devices were needed before the runaway tractor was finally brought to a halt. During the 50-minute chase, the drunken driver allegedly swerved to prevent police cars overtaking him and tried to back into a patrol car, and was thwarted only when the trailer he was towing jack-knifed.
The episode began when a labourer, Gareth Legge, 18, took the tractor from Allercombe farm, Newton Abbot, where he worked. He headed to the A38, a main route between Plymouth and Exeter, and drove along the dual carriageway. Police spotted the tractor swerving across two lanes with no lights on, moving at between 10mph and 12mph. They set off in not-so-hot pursuit.
But Torbay magistrates heard yesterday that Legge refused to pull over. He reached the small town of Ashburton, then turned around and began heading back towards Newton Abbot.
Christopher Bittlestone, prosecuting, said: "Police tried to overtake the tractor on several occasions but the tractor swerved in their way."
At one point Legge appeared to try to ram a police car by reversing the tractor, but the livestock trailer it was pulling jack-knifed. Desperate to halt the tractor, police laid stingers - spiked devices designed to stop vehicles safely.
Mr Bittlestone said: "Because of the size of the vehicle, officers had to use three stinger devices on its tyres to eventually bring it to a halt."
After Legge was arrested on Saturday he was found to have 55 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of his blood. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. When asked about his driving he said he could not remember the incident.
Legge admitted driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, drink-driving and damaging a livestock trailer. Prosecutors will examine CCTV footage before deciding whether to proceed with a dangerous driving charge.
