26-year-old man handed a further four years and three months onto his prison sentence as public's information leads to his arrest

On Wednesday 5 July 2023 at around 8.45pm, officers from the Safer Roads Targeting Team (SRTT) received information from the public that an individual who was disqualified from driving was back behind the wheel of a vehicle in Bolton.

The driver in question had been released from prison on licence, having caused the death of Bolton Mayoress Gay Wharton in 2020.

Officers in an unmarked police vehicle identified that the driver of a grey BMW 3 Series was the suspected disqualified driver and proceeded to follow him down Chorley New Road.

Before officers could use tactics to stop the vehicle, the driver failed to stop and made off at high speed and travelled through red lights using the opposite side of the road.

The officers continued to pursue the vehicle before it eventually came to a stop after colliding a bus, thankfully there were no injuries to the members of the public that were travelling on the bus at that time.

After a short pursuit on foot, the driver of the BMW – a 26 -year-old man – was arrested for driving whilst disqualified, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

On Monday 18 December 2023, Wasim Iqbal (20/08/1997) of Chorley New Road, Bolton was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to an additional 4 years and 3 months in prison after pleading guilty to driving whilst disqualified, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

PC Tom Berry and PC Matt Sale of the Safer Roads Targeting Team said: “Iqbal’s actions back in July shows that he has not learnt by his mistakes which saw him spend time in prison for causing death by dangerous driving back in 2020.

“During this pursuit, Iqbal even sped past the scene where he and his co-accused had caused the death of Mayoress Gay Wharton only three years prior. His disregard for the law and the way he drove that evening could have been fatal, thankfully that was not the case. 

“This sentencing sees another dangerous driver off the streets, and it is another step towards making the roads of Greater Manchester a safer place to be, something that the Safer Roads Targeting Team are very passionate about.

“We encourage the public to let us know about unlicensed and uninsured drivers like Iqbal so they can be taken off the streets and brought to justice”.