THIS is the moment an Oldham car thief stole a Suzuki Ignis from an Ashton dealership while crashing into multiple vehicles and being chased by several salesman.
The CCTV footage obtained by The Oldham Times captures the shocking moment Ibrahim Mohammed Ashraf, of Linden Avenue, sped off in the Suzuki leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
On Thursday, April 14 Ashraf was sentenced for dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle theft at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court after pleading guilty to two counts of dangerous driving and one count of aggravated vehicle theft.
At the time of the incident, he was disqualified from driving and did not have insurance.
The court heard that on Friday, February 18 Ashraf visited the Colin Appleyard Motors, a Suzuki dealership in Ashton.
While being shown a Suzuki Ignis by a salesman the 37-year-old got into the driver’s seat and sped off in the car.
A sales assistant managed to block the forecourt’s exit with a vehicle and a bollard.
Undeterred, Ashraf proceeded to drive into it before reversing into another car.
He then hit a third car before driving around the forecourt at 20mph while being chased on foot by salesmen at the showroom.
Ashraf then rammed into the car blocking the exit once more and managed to get out of the forecourt, leaving an estimated £60,000 worth of damage in his wake.
The car thief then drove the Suzuki to Oldham and via a manoeuvre that damaged yet another vehicle managed to get the car stuck on a tramline.
He was arrested and police matched his clothes to those worn by the man on the dealership’s CCTV footage.
During the incident, Ashraf hit and damaged a total of six cars at the dealership.
Ashraf was given a sentence of 21 months and eight weeks imprisonment and is disqualified from driving for three years and 11 months.
Read our full coverage from court here.
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