A man who ran away from police who were trying to arrest him claims he did it because he was not in handcuffs and therefore he did not realise he was under arrest.

Ben Tanner, 25, of Lower Field, Chippenham, pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody at Swindon Magistrates Court on November 27.

The court heard from Mr Ballinger, prosecuting, that police were called following an alleged intentional strangulation incident on the evening of July 10.

When they arrived, officers told Tanner he was under arrest for the alleged offence and he told them he was not under arrest because he was not in handcuffs, but officers reiterated that he was under arrest and would be taken into custody.

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They called for a van to transport him, but as they tried to search him, he removed his arm from the sling it was in, threw the sling on the floor and made off from officers, running down the road and into an alleyway.

Tanner, who has no previous convictions, gave himself up shortly after and police detained him around 100 to 200 metres away, eventually getting him into the van and transported to custody.

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During his police interview, he explained he ran away because he suffers from ADHD and runs when he finds himself in challenging situations, but he stopped when he realised what he was doing was wrong.

In mitigation, Mr Glendenning, defending, said Tanner’s “fight or flight” kicked in and in his mind he was not under arrest because he was not immediately placed into handcuffs, noting that the offence “marks his record” and means he has lost his previous good character.

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Nevertheless, the Magistrate issued Tanner with a six-month conditional discharge, meaning if he commits further offences in this time, he will be re-sentenced for this one as well as any other offences.

He must also pay a surcharge of £26 and prosecution costs of £85, totalling £111.