‘Cops let me refuel during chase,’ says 140mph speeder

The biker followed for miles by an unmarked police bike at up to 140mph has told how cops allowed him to refuel before continuing the chase.

• 140mph chase was ‘safe’

Police followed Michael Collins, 22, for 40 minutes to ‘gather evidence’. When he stopped to fill up, an officer in plain leathers on a silver Honda Fireblade simply waited further along the road.

Collins claims he only went so fast because the unknown rider was following so closely he feared he would be rear-ended.

He said: “He was obviously trying to be very, very close to me so I was a bit wary of that. He looked a bit sketchy and I didn’t particularly want him that close to me.

“If you’re riding a bike and someone is there with you going just as fast, of course it makes you go faster. I’m not going to paint a perfect picture of myself and say that I would only ride at 30mph at every other time but he certainly encouraged me to go a bit faster, mainly because when I made overtakes I could see that he was quite desperate to make them as well.

“I was a bit concerned that he may crash into me to be honest.”

• To read how police are still battling to have Collins jailed, get MCN, on sale now.