A quad bike rider involved in a collision in which a police officer suffered a leg fracture has been told to expect to receive a custodial sentence at court in April.

The warning was given to defendant Glen Neil Burdess after he admitted a second series of motoring charges, involving him driving dangerously in a BMW car, before assaulting two police officers, arising from an incident in Peterlee, two days after Christmas in 2022.

Those pleas were made on top of his previous admission to causing a police constable serious injury by dangerous driving, in a more recent incident, in September last year.

Burdess first appeared at Durham Crown Court, via video link from the city’s nearby prison, where he is on remand, at a plea hearing on October 24 last year.

The Northern Echo: Glen Burdess admitted causing a police officer serious injury by dangerous driving but faces a

He admitted a charge of causing a police constable serious injury by dangerous driving, in the incident in Mendip Close, Peterlee, on September 13, last year.

But he denied a further charge of causing the officer grievous bodily harm with intent, plus three offences from the earlier incident, in Tweed Close, Peterlee, on December 27.

A trial date was fixed for this month for the contested hearing over the charges denied by Burdess.

But he appeared at the court again today (Thursday February 22), also by video link from the nearby prison, and changed his pleas to the charges previously denied, relating to the Tweed Close incident.

The 27-year-old defendant, of Pentland Close, Peterlee, now pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, in the BMW, plus the assaults on two emergency workers, both police officers, in the same incident, on December 27, 2022.

He also admitted a summary offence of driving the quad bike, a Can-Am Outlander, without insurance in the September 13 incident.

The Northern Echo:

Rebecca Brown, for the prosecution, said those pleas were considered “acceptable” to the Crown and the GBH with intent charge is to be “left on the file”, at the conclusion of the case, when Burdess is sentenced for the remaining matters he has admitted, in April.

Glenn Gatland, representing the defendant, asked to have a background report prepared by the Probation Service, on his client, before he is sentenced.

Mr Gatland said the defendant had been working away in Wales when there was an unexpected death of a family member, which was compounded by him (the defendant) suffering a broken leg in a car accident in which he was a passenger.

Although Mr Gatland said the defendant is previously only “lightly convicted”, having never served a prison sentence, he responded to those two significant personal and family incidents by “self-medicating”.

But he said since he has been remanded in custody he has, “turned himself around considerably, while in prison."

Mr Gatland said the defendant was aware, however, of the inevitability of the prison sentence that awaits.

Recorder Mark McKone KC agreed to request a pre-sentence report by the Probation Service, prior to the sentencing hearing, which was fixed for Wednesday April 3.

But he told Burdess: “You have been well advised to enter those pleas today.

“I’ll adjourn to allow you to be interviewed for the report to be prepared by the Probation Service.

“They will want to look at why you committed these offences and anything to do with your personal circumstances.

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“Realistically, you are going to receive a prison sentence on April 3, when the court will decide what the sentence will be and how long it will be.

“I don’t want you to think that by adjourning until April 3 for the pre-sentence report that you will be released that day, because that’s very unlikely.”

Recorder McKone asked for 45 minutes to be set aside the for the sentencing hearing on April 3.