Joyrider spared jail for being IT apprentice

An IT apprentice who crashed his father’s supercar on a drunken joy ride appears to have escaped prison because of his technological potential.

Harry Bishop, 19, was told in court that he could have “no complaint” if jailed, but the judge said his potential value to society once qualified in IT needed to be taken into account.

“Undoubtedly for you, going to prison straight away would have a disastrous effect,” Bishop was reportedly told by Judge Anthony Warner, presiding at Birmingham Crown Court.

Bishop’s formerly spotless character further helped him walk away with a suspended sentence; a two-and-a-half-year driving ban, a three-month curfew and 200hrs unpaid work.

Disclosures in court by Naomi Gilchrist, on Bishop’s behalf, also helped him evade jail, even though he admitted aggravated vehicle taking, driving while drunk and without insurance.

She said he’d been punished by his father already, having been given “extra chores around the house” and a ban on a holiday he wanted to take. His pocket money got stopped too.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Ms Gilchrist added: “He no longer receives an allowance to top up the little amount of IT apprenticeship pay.”

It all went wrong for Bishop when he came home drunk on May 2^nd after a night out with friends and decided to take his father’s powerful Audi R8 out for a spin, without telling him.

Bishop quickly ploughed the car into the home of an elderly couple, causing £25,000 in damage. He reportedly then walked 100m home to explain himself to a “very angry” parent.