Sussex Police/Facebook
- A video shows the moment a thief stole a taxi from outside Gatwick Airport near London.
- Mohammed Ahmed had been denied a ride by a taxi when he saw another left unattended with the keys.
- He sparked a police chase and was "swerving in the road and reaching dangerously high speeds," police said.
A video shows the moment a thief stole a taxi from an airport and sparked a 130mph police chase.
The incident occurred after Mohammed Ahmed, 24, was denied a ride by a taxi outside Gatwick Airport near London in September, according to British newspaper The Telegraph.
Footage shows him then getting into a different taxi that had been left unattended with the keys in the ignition of the Mercedes after the driver had gone inside the airport terminal to collect a fare, a Sussex Police spokesman told the paper.
He took off in the car and later went to the taxi driver's home to drop off identification documents before speeding off again.
The Sussex Police spokesman said they were alerted to the situation as Ahmed was driving dangerously, "swerving in the road and reaching dangerously high speeds."
Even after police deployed a spiked tire deflation device, Ahmed raced on at speeds of more than 100mph after losing a tyre on the Mercedes taxi.
A helicopter tracked him as he drove on several highways as police attempted to stop him safely, but they eventually gave up because of the risks to other road users and police officers.
"Ahmed reached the A34 and was still driving at speeds of 70mph in a 30mph zone, going the wrong way around roundabouts, through red lights, and on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic," the spokesman said.
Det Insp Darren Lillywhite said, per The Telegraph: "His driving was so reckless that police were not able to continue pursuing him because of the risk it posed."
"Our colleagues from NPAS tracked him, and fortunately, our colleagues from Warwickshire Police RPU were able to catch him and make the arrest."
"Ahmed is very lucky not to have caused serious harm to either himself, our officers, or other road users. His driving was appalling."
Ahmed was given a 14-month suspended prison sentence and given an 18 month driving ban for aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving, The Telegraph reported.
He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, 15 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions and pay £841.53 to the taxi driver in compensation.