‘Desperado’ jailed for 16km chase in minibus

A "desperado" who stole a minibus for a highly dangerous escapade has been jailed for 18 months.

Trevor Hegarty drank cider and beer as he drove from Cork City to Blarney and back as sparks and dust flew, pub customers leapt out of harm’s way, and motorists pulled into ditches to avoid potentially fatal crashes.

Hegarty, aged 18, of 48 Gurranabraher Avenue, Cork, received a three-year sentence, with half of it suspended, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on counts that included stealing the bus and causing criminal damage to it, to other cars and to two garden walls.