Driver jailed for going on 'terrifying' drunken rampage outside Retford pub and attempting to run people over

A man has been jailed after going on a drunken rampage outside a pub and hitting multiple people with his car.
Kirsty Hamilton
By Kirsty Hamilton
Published 9th Feb 2022, 15:33 BST
Updated 9th Feb 2022, 15:59 BST
Joseph Joyce, 23, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, has been jailed for a series of charges.Joseph Joyce, 23, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, has been jailed for a series of charges.
Joseph Joyce, 23, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, has been jailed for a series of charges.

Joseph Joyce appeared in Nottingham Crown Court yesterday where he was jailed for 12 months and disqualified from driving for three years.

Joyce, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, was charged with dangerous driving, assault by beating, drink driving, indecent exposure, affray, failing to stop for police, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving with false registration plates after an incident in Retford last year.

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The incident happened outside the White Lion pub, in West Street, Retford on May 15, 2021.The incident happened outside the White Lion pub, in West Street, Retford on May 15, 2021.
The incident happened outside the White Lion pub, in West Street, Retford on May 15, 2021.
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On May 15, the 23-year-old approached a group of 15 people outside the White Lion pub, in West Street, and tried to intimidate them by dropping his trousers and exposing himself, while shouting abuse.

After hitting one woman in the shoulder and pushing another woman to the floor, he then walked off and returned a few minutes later behind the wheel of his car.

It was then that Joyce, who was later found to be under the influence of alcohol, mounted the curb and started to violently drive his car at people, causing the crowd to scatter and “run for their lives”, with two women knocked over by the car.

Joyce then attempted to ram a police car when officers arrived, and then sped away driving at 60mph through a 30mph zone, before damaging his car after hitting a curb and being arrested by police in Babworth Road, Retford, as he tried to escape on foot.

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Nobody was seriously injured, with only one woman suffering a sprained wrist from the incident.

Sergeant Ryan Brown, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was an incredibly dangerous incident that was completely unacceptable, whichever way you look at it.

“Joyce subjected multiple people to a terrifying ordeal, with many of them literally having to run for their lives in order to avoid being hit by his car.

“It’s a miracle really that nobody was badly hurt as a result of this seemingly random attack, which also saw Joyce commit a number of other serious offences, including assault and indecent exposure.

“There is absolutely no place for this type of behaviour in our society."