A man has been jailed for 15 months for his ‘idiotic actions’ driving along a railway track.

Aaron O’Halloran, 32, drove for half a mile along the track before abandoning his car and blocking the line.

O’Halloran has also been disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £156. He has been found guilty of a string of offences related to the bizarre escapade. These include endangering people on the railway and dangerous driving. It is also reported that he was driving while disqualified and without car insurance.

Open and shut case

The actions were caught on CCTV at around 7.30am on May 9. He was filmed driving a black Mitsubishi Shogun onto the track through a gate by Duddeston station near Birmingham. He continued for half a mile down the line before fleeing the scene on foot.

Luckily, no trains were on the line at the time. However, his actions resulted in eight hours of delays for rail passengers in the area. British Transport Police claim he caused £23,000 worth of damage.

According to The Guardian, the culprit was eventually tracked down by police after he left a mobile phone in the car. Despite this and the CCTV footage, O’Halloran continued to deny he’d been driving the car.

Dangerous and disrupted

“Incredibly, O’Halloran is not the only driver to have caused serious disruptions by joyriding down a railway track this year,” states BTP Detective Inspector Raymond Ascott. “Mainline trains out of London were also disrupted in July when a man attempted to get away from a police pursuit by driving through Chingford station.

“This was an immensely dangerous and senseless act by O’Halloran which caused significant risk to passengers and damage to the railway.

“The sentence handed to him reflects the severity of this crime and we are thankful no one was injured as a result of O’Halloran’s alarming behaviour.

“He’ll now have plenty of time to reflect on his idiotic actions in prison.”