Man who took bus on 10-mile joyride from Nottingham to Derby is jailed for a year

This is the moment a yob stole a bus in a city centre and crashed into a car before going on a 10-mile joyride.

Josh Redfern, 25, jumped into the cab of the empty single-decker bus when it was parked on Peveril Drive, Nottingham, at 8pm on August 4. Footage from inside the bus shows Redfern drive through a red-light in Castle Boulevard before ploughing into a parked car. He then careered on for another 10 miles before he dumped the Indigo TrentBarton bus in Borrowash, Derby.

Nottinghamshire Police released a witness appeal, with Redfern being identified after a CCTV image of him was posted on Facebook. Redfern was arrested and police discovered he stole the bus while serving a suspended sentence for drug offences.

He admitted aggravated vehicle taking, failing to stop after an accident, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance. On Thursday Redfern, of Derby, was jailed for 12 months at Nottingham Crown Court.

He was told the sentence reflected the fact he committed the offences while on a suspended prison sentence for drug-related offences. He had been jailed for 16 weeks, suspended for 12 months, in December 2022 for possession of Class A and Class B drugs, as well as being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs.

PC Matt Fisher, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Redfern’s actions that evening were mindless, reckless and dangerous. He climbed inside a bus and set off into busy city traffic – presumably with no thought of the harm he could potentially cause to other road users. Thankfully no one was seriously injured but that is no thanks to Redfern. He wrote off one car after colliding with it and could have harmed anyone else who he came into contact with. I am pleased a judge has seen fit to put him behind bars.”