Moment escaped prisoner rams armed police in gym car park

DAILYMAIL.COM • 3h ago

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER 19:33 05 Oct 2026, updated 19:57 05 Oct 2026

An escaped prisoner was caught ramming armed police in a gym car park after he went on the run for four months.

Jay Bennett used his black Volkswagen Golf to repeatedly hit firearm officers in their vehicles outside the Fitness Factory gym in Coventry on March 24.

The 33-year-old broke out of HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire after serving just seven months of a nine-year prison sentence last December.

Police launched a manhunt for the wanted man, who disappeared for four months until he was spotted at the gym and armed police swooped in to make the arrest.

Bodycam footage of the attempted getaway showed black-clad officers surrounding the car and appearing to shoot at the tyres to stop Bennett from escaping.

One officer shouts ‘stop the car’ but he ignores the order and instead remains at the wheel of the vehicle.

The crook then revs the car’s engine, swerving and smashing into several parked vehicles before a police vehicle rammed his battered Volkswagen into a wall.

After he was boxed in, Bennett, of no fixed address, was hauled out of the car and arrested by a swarm of firearms officers.

Fortunately, nobody was injured by Bennett as he used his vehicle to smash his way out of the car park.

He was charged with 18 offences and went on to admit to absconding from prison and three counts of driving while disqualified.

He was also found guilty of dangerous driving, three counts of criminal damage and two counts of attempting to escape from custody.

Bennett was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Warwick Crown Court on September 28.

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