Grandad's own lawyer slams him as 'strikingly unsuccessful' criminal after smashing car into pregnant mum's house

A grandad, who has committed more than 200 crimes in the past 49 years crashed a stolen car into a house while a pregnant mum watched TV with her eight-year-old daughter.

David Allen, 59, led cops on a chase around Farnworth at around 5.30pm on November 2, 2022, after an officer had spotted him driving a Nissan Qashqai matching the description of one stolen in a burglary around a week earlier. During the pursuit, Allen ran red lights, drove at double the speed limit, went the wrong way around a mini roundabout and even caused a crash.

Despite police putting a stinger down to stop him, he continued driving with burst tyres but eventually came to an abrupt stop when he crashed into a house in Blindsill Road. He fled from the car on foot but was caught and arrested a short time later, prosecution barrister John Kennerley told Bolton Crown Court. Upon being arrested, it was discovered that he already had five simultaneous driving bans, having never passed a court-ordered extended retest.

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The homeowner - a pregnant woman - had been watching TV in the living room with her daughter at the time of the collision and she said it "caused the whole house to shake". After being interviewed, Allen was charged with a string of driving offences as well as an unrelated burglary - in which around £10,000 worth of jewellery was taken from a house in Lostock - in April 2022.

Allen, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, and burglary. The court heard that Allen committed his first crime as a child in 1974 and has "effectively pursued a career as a professional burglar",