A man who crashed into three different cars within an hour in Oldham while he was on drugs has avoided jail.

Liaqat Ali appeared at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday (Monday, July 8) where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, driving under the influence of cannabis and cocaine and driving without insurance.

Emma Swindell, prosecuting, told the court that on the afternoon of January 30, 2023, Ali was driving in Oldham when he crashed into a van and drove off. 

The damage he caused to the van was so significant that it forced the owner of the van to buy a new one as he relied on his van for work and the repair works would take months.

This resulted in a loss of earnings for the man.

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Just minutes later, a second man was driving on Spencer Street near Derker when Ali, 35, crashed into him and drove off, causing damage to the rear bumper of the second victim's car.

Around an hour later, Ali, of Ronald Street, Clarksfield, was driving on Crompton Street when he crashed into another car head on which was being driven by a woman.

The crash caused serious damage to the victim's car and she was left with bruising to her body as a result of the collision.

Ali once again left the area but was eventually caught and detained by police.

He gave the officers who arrested him a fake name and said he had exchanged details with the first victim, which was also a lie.

It was then discovered that Ali had taken the keys of the car from a family member without permission and when his blood was tested, he was found to have high levels of cannabis and cocaine in his system.

Mark Fireman, defending, admitted that Ali's driving had been "appalling", adding: "Why he behaved the way he did on that day is beyond him."

He said that Ali had no previous convictions on his record and that he was the father of a young child.

When passing sentence, Recorder Daniel Lister told Ali he had made a "series of bad decisions" and that the crashes had cost the three victims "quite a lot of money".

He added: "You put people's lives at risk when you drove in that way."

Ali was given a prison sentence of 14 months, suspended for 18 months, and must carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and attend 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirement.

He was also disqualified from driving for 30 months, which includes the period he has been banned from driving since the incidents took place more than 17 months ago.