A Cheltenham man who reached speeds of up to 114mph during a police chase between Tewkesbury and Gloucester has been spared a prison sentence. Patrick Bermingham received a five-year driving ban and a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to 11 offences, including aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.
The incident took place in the early hours of June 24, when Bermingham took a silver Mercedes without permission from the home of Graham James in Cheltenham. Mr. James witnessed the vehicle being driven away and promptly reported the theft to police around 2:20 am.
Police later spotted the car on the A38 near Tewkesbury, where dashcam footage showed Bermingham speeding as fast as 114mph in open sections and up to 80mph in built-up areas. The chase progressed through Twigworth, with Bermingham running a red light before finally being stopped near Norton using police vehicles and a stinger device.
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The court heard Bermingham was unlicensed and uninsured at the time. Additional offences included verbal abuse in Cheltenham, failure to provide a specimen after suspected drug driving in Gloucester, and stealing a Land Rover Freelander while banned and uninsured in December of the previous year.
Defence counsel Ranjit Bains highlighted Bermingham’s history of alcohol, drug, and mental health struggles, noting he has since stopped drug use, reduced alcohol consumption, and engaged with mental health services and counselling.
Magistrates described Bermingham’s driving as “shocking” and acknowledged he was “very fortunate not to have killed someone.” Alongside the suspended sentence and driving ban, he was given a six-month mental health treatment order, 28 days of alcohol abstinence monitoring, a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement, and must pay £272 in legal costs.