by Dan Bloom
dbloom@thekmgroup.co.uk

A homeless South African driver tried to mow down a police officer and rammed a police car 50ft across an Ashford car park because he thought the officers chasing him could be carjackers.

Ricardo Ventura, 27, evaded a police car with sirens blaring for one-and-a-half miles from Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital to the Batchelors soup factory on Saturday.

His silver Alfa Romeo sped past the wrong side of a traffic island in the chase, which led to a stand-off in the factory car park in Kennington Road.

As officers closed in, he tried to escape by driving up a grass bank.

When that failed he drove straight at a PC, who dived out of his way, before ramming another PC’s empty car and sending it skidding 50ft across the tarmac.

Officers eventually closed in when one drove their police car into the side of the Alfa Romeo.

He then told them: “We had best apologise to each other.”

Ventura, who uses a wheelchair due to thrombosis and has had 21 operations to his legs, was only followed by police because he pulled on to the roundabout at the William Harvey Hospital without warning at 9.30am, Ashford Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday.

Rachael Laughland , for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “He had visited friends locally.

"He sought shelter for the night in the hospital, but was unsuccessful and was returning to Edinburgh, where he lives in B&B accommodation.

“Having lived in South Africa until four months ago he said the police were often impersonated, and if you pulled over you were likely to be shot.

"He had thought there was nothing wrong with his driving and blamed the heat of the moment.”

The court heard Ventura had suspected mental health issues, and was stopped by police on January 7 when he used his wheelchair on a dual carriageway in Inverness.

Donald Worsley , for Ventura, said: “We British citizens may find it hard to come to terms with, but he thought the people chasing him might be wishing to bring him harm.”

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Ventura pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and failing to stop when required by a police officer.

He was remanded in custody until sentencing at Maidstone Crown Court.

Meanwhile Mr Worsley told the court he would write to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Commission for Equality and Human Rights over an alleged breach of Ventura’s human rights.

Mr Worsley complained after the hearing was almost held in Ventura’s police cell, as the court did not have a lift in which he could attend the courtroom in his wheelchair.

He eventually came up the several flights of stairs on crutches.

Mr Worsley said: “I am outraged and disgusted that because a man is in a wheelchair he can’t be brought before a court.”