A man accused of drunkenly driving a ‘stolen’ 24-tonne bulldozer on a reckless joyride through a city centre has been charged with multiple offences.
The vehicle, described by police as an ‘earthmover’, was captured on video ploughing through a Royal Mail lorry on Saturday night.
The bulldozer was taken from a property in Staffordshire on November 8 before crossing the border into Wolverhampton in what is understood to have been an attempt to target a specific address, West Midlands Police said.
The unathorised operator drove the excavator through the city and along the dual carriageway as stunned onlookers watched in shock.
Officers ran alongside the vehicle in an attempt to stop it, with the machine finally coming to rest at 8.15pm.
Darren Coffey, 41, from Sandwell, has been charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving a motor vehicle without a licence or insurance and threat to damage or destroy property.
Coffrey has also been charged with two counts of criminal damage to a property under £5,000, drink driving and aggravated vehicle taking and vehicle damage under £5,000.
The suspect has been remanded in custody and was due to appear at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court on November 10.
A ‘stolen’ bulldozer is driven through Wolverhampton city centre on the evening of November 8
Videos show the bulldozer ramming a Royal Mail lorry out of the way and forcing it into railings
Footage taken on the night in question shows a huge Royal Mail lorry parked across Willenhall Road – moments before the crash.
Moments later, members of the public could be heard shouting about a ‘stolen bulldozer’ approaching.
Videos show the lorry being rammed out of the way and forced into railings as the excavator continues thundering down the road.
Charlene Harris, 47, who filmed the incident, had been in The Merry Boys Inn pub moments earlier, when a crowd rushed outside to see the commotion.
She said: ‘When we came out, it looked like the police were stopping the Royal Mail van, but then we realised a copper was driving it.
‘It was being used to block the road. The police were shouting at everyone to keep away – and then we got word that a bulldozer was coming down from Willenhall.
‘The bulldozer got through the lorry easily. We couldn’t believe what was going on. The amount of police trying to stop it was unbelievable.’
West Midlands Police received calls from the public shortly before 6pm and rushed to stop the earthmover as it damaged road surfaces and street furniture.
The machine made its way through Wolverhampton city centre, along Bridgnorth Road, Compton Road West, and even onto the A4150 dual carriageway.
