An escaped inmate took police on "a horrifying and frightening" 80mph chase along the A249 after three months on the run.

Twice-banned driver William Adams was spotted at the wheel of a stolen van near Sittingbourne.

The moment Adams was arrested by officers near Sittingbourne. Footage: Kent Police

The chase – which was caught on police video and shown in court – revealed how Adams damaged two police cars, destroying a third when it hit a tree and burst into flames.

The judge, Recorder Gareth Branston, watched an eight-minute video showing the 22-year-old hitting other vehicles, reaching speeds of up to 80mph along country roads, narrowly missing two horses and riders and forcing pedestrians and workmen to take evasive action.

The judge told him: "This was truly horrifying to watch and your selfish and foolish driving could have been even more serious had someone been injured or killed."

The chase ended near the Stockbury roundabout on the A249 when the van was rammed by a police car. Adams was caught as he tried to run away.

Adams had been serving a 45-month sentence imposed in September 2020 for a conspiracy to steal – but just walked out of Ford Open Prison in West Sussex on July 14, 2021.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how he then stayed at large until November 23 last year when a police officer spotted the stolen van near Sittingbourne.

Stacy Lee-Holland, prosecuting, said: "Police began following the van as it drove away at speed along the A249 towards Maidstone – at excessive speed.

"At the Stockbury roundabout the van struck a police car before Adams drove over the roundabout to get away."

She said the van then smashed through barriers and onto narrow country lanes, at 80 mph in a 30mph zone.

'He simply left through the front gates but now regrets it.'

Another police car was then knocked off the road by the stolen van before going down a bank and colliding with a tree and "immediately" catching fire.

Ms Holland added: "The defendant then drove on the opposite side of the road, overtaking a lorry at a dangerous point with oncoming traffic approaching.

"At one point he had a traffic cone stuck underneath the van before it came away damaging a tyre.

"The tyre then shredded, causing sparks to fly as the van drove on the rims along Keycol Hill in Newington.

"Eventually the van was stopped near the Stockbury roundabout when the defendant tried to get away on foot but was arrested."

Sam Willis, defending, said Adams walked out through the prison gates after learning of "bickering" in his family and his girlfriend was seeing someone else.

"He simply left through the front gates but now regrets it. Had he remained he would probably now be out on a tag."

Adams, who has no fixed address, admitted escaping lawful custody, driving dangerously and driving while disqualified.

He was returned to serve the rest of the original sentence and now the judge has added another 28 months, which will run consecutively.

Adams was also banned from driving for four years and 10 months.