A SWINDON man who led police on a cannabis-fuelled high speed chase through Swindon has failed to keep to a court order, it has been heard.

Joshua McLeod appeared before Swindon Crown Court last week where it was heard he had failed to attend appointments with probation and his voluntary service in September, November and December.

He had been given a suspended sentence with community requirements last January, after his “outrageous” driving led police officers from Barbury Castle to Swindon town centre in March 2020.

The court heard that he went through red lights, the wrong way around roundabouts and hit speeds of 70 miles per hour in 30 zones.

Appearing before Judge Jason Taylor QC last Wednesday, the judge who spared him an immediate jail sentence last year, it was heard McLeod had completed four of the 30 rehabilitation activity days and 55 hours, 35 minutes of the 150 hours of the unpaid work he had been ordered to do.

But prosecutor Matthew Scott accepted that McLeod, now 20, had been suffering from mental health difficulties and probation “have accommodated that”.

Judge Taylor decided to adjourn the sentencing until January 27, for an assessment on his suitability for a mental health treatment requirement.

He told McLeod’s barrister, Sambreen Arif: “I’m not impressed with the compliance with his order, but equally if someone is struggling with his mental health, I want to see if I can help him before I go for the nuclear option which is activation.

“What your client needs to understand is that he needs to carry on with this order. I am singularly unimpressed that when he was told that breach proceedings would be activated he just got up and walked out of the appointment.

“He needs to show commitment. I want to test his mettle.”

Addressing McLeod in the dock, Judge Taylor added: “This court is not unsympathetic with people who are struggling with their mental health, but equally it expects court orders to be followed.

“You have been given a large degree of latitude, but you are at the end of the road. Even if you are struggling, you need to comply.

“If I get the inkling that you are not going to comply, I’ll just lock you up, it’s as simple as that.”

McLeod, of Beatrice Street, Gorse Hill, will appear before the same court on January 27 for sentencing.

At his sentencing last January, the court heard how McLeod had been parked in a Mitsubishi Carisma near Barbury Castle in the early hours of March 8, when police officers had knocked on the window as they could smell cannabis.

McLeod refused to wind down the window and made off at speed, hitting 80mph in 40mph zones and 70mph on roads with 30mph limits.

The court heard how he went through numerous red lights “without hesitation”, and went straight over numerous mini-roundabouts.

Tests at the police station showed McLeod was more than three times the drug-drive limit for cannabis. He was given a 10-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.