A man who robbed a couple at knifepoint outside a Taco Bell and then led police on a dangerous wrong-way chase has been given a 10-year extended sentence.

Thomas Lacson, 29, pleaded guilty to robbery and dangerous driving. Judge Amanda Rippon gave him a 10-year extended sentence: seven years and seven months in custody, of which he must serve two-thirds before parole can be considered, plus two years and five months on licence.

It began in the early hours of 30 March, when the victims were leaving a Taco Bell car park off the A66 in South Bank after collecting food. Lacson, wearing a balaclava and armed with a six-inch kitchen knife, approached them from behind, demanded money and threatened to stab the man.

When the man said he had no money, Lacson demanded his car keys. The victim handed them over, and as Lacson got into the car he shouted: "Don't call the police or I'll slash your lass up."

Victims left anxious and traumatised

In a victim impact statement, the man said he now feels anxious and more conscious of his surroundings, and is considering speaking to his GP about the impact.

His partner described the incident as like a fever dream, said she took a month off work, has suffered panic attacks, and her GP thinks she may have post-traumatic stress disorder.

The couple called police despite the threat. A pursuit began at 12.50am as he drove off in the stolen red VW Passat. Lacson drove at 65mph in a 30mph zone, with his lights off and on the wrong side of the road, causing a taxi to mount the kerb to avoid a collision.

Second pursuit ended with stingers

Police abandoned the pursuit because of the level of risk, but about five minutes later Lacson was seen again on Longlands Road at 1.15am. He reached 70mph in a 30mph zone, drove across a grassed area near Tennyson Avenue, and at one stage drove towards a police vehicle, narrowly avoiding a collision.

Police deployed stingers, which deflated the car's tyres. Lacson kept driving until the tyres gave out, then ran from the car and was quickly arrested.

Judge Rippon said it was only through good fortune that no members of the public or police officers were killed or seriously injured. She noted a separate wrong-way crash on the A66 in South Bank months earlier in which seven people died, including police officers PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.

He was jailed for eight years and nine months in 2022 for robbery, attempted robbery and dangerous driving, after threatening a worker with a knife at a Cannon Park car dealership and forcing an employee into a car before driving off at 120mph in a 50mph section of the A66.

Lacson has 14 previous convictions for 32 offences and had been released from prison on licence only weeks before. The judge said this showed a pattern of concerning behaviour and concluded he was a dangerous offender.