Car thief who rammed a police car and injured a woman in a village near Harborough has been jailed

A car thief who rammed a police car and injured a woman in a village near Market Harborough has been jailed for three years.

Alex Lundy, 45, ran over the woman’s foot as she tried to stop him stealing her Audi in Cold Ashby on February 26.

Lundy forced a police officer to leap out of the way when he sped towards him.

The serial offender, who has convictions for 69 offences dating back to 1994, was spotted by a police dog handler later that day in Rothwell driving another car linked to the theft.

The quick-thinking policewoman blocked the criminal in Squires Hill with her patrol vehicle before jumping out with one of her dogs.

But Lundy smashed into her police vehicle three times, leaving it badly damaged, and then hared off, Northampton Crown Court heard.

Another police dog in the vehicle at the time was badly shaken up by the shocking incident, the court was told.

The ramming attack caused £3,700 damage to the police car and left it so battered it couldn’t be driven.

Police chased Lundy in a high-speed pursuit around Rothwell before he crashed the stolen BMW into a tree in Moorfield Road, Rothwell.

He was arrested minutes later in a garden.

Lundy, of Corby, was jailed after admitting a string of serious charges, including dangerous driving.

He was also banned from driving for five years.