Suspended prison sentence for Daniel Groome after police dash cam video shows BMW speed at over 150mph along A338 between Ashley Heath, near Ringwood, and Blackwater

“THE consequences could be tragic,” police warned as they released dramatic footage of a newly qualified driver clocked at over 150mph on the A338 near Ringwood.

Daniel Groome (23), from Bournemouth, has now been handed a suspended prison sentence for the offence, which he committed just before midnight in June last year.

On that night, a roads policing officer monitoring traffic at the Ashley Heath roundabout spotted Groome’s BMW 325i taking a left-hand bend at “inappropriate speed”.

The officer set off in pursuit of the car as it travelled along the dual carriageway.

They matched the BMW’s speed, with a reading of 153mph recorded on the police vehicle.

The car travelled at almost double the limit as it approached a 50mph zone at Blackwater.

Groome covered the 5.2-mile distance between Ashley Heath and Blackwater in half the five minutes it would have taken at a safe speed.

Charged with dangerous driving, Groome was handed a 12-month prison term suspended for two years when he appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court.

He was also banned from the roads for two years and six months, and must take an extended test.

As the dash cam footage of the speeding was shared, PC Kier Dagnall, of the roads policing team, highlighted it could have had a devastating ending.

“We were very quickly able to respond and stop this vehicle from being involved in a collision and the driver potentially injuring themselves, their front-seat passenger or another road user,” he said.

“This driver had only passed his driving test three weeks beforehand and was travelling at incredibly dangerous speeds with someone else in his vehicle.

“We cannot make it any clearer – there is no excuse for driving over the speed limit and endangering other road users.

“The footage shows just how quickly the BMW driver was travelling as within seconds he was out of our sight.”

PC Dagnall continued: “We know that some young, newly qualified drivers can be drawn into travelling at dangerous speeds and testing their capabilities, but this is not acceptable.

“You will ultimately risk losing your licence that you just worked hard to obtain and the consequences could be tragic if you are involved in a road traffic collision.”