A man drove at three times the speed limit before crashing his car into a Grade II listed Victorian shelter and plunging into a lake, causing more than £90,000 worth of damage.
Harry Mason called police to claim his Mercedes car had been stolen after he smashed into the shelter by the Marine Lake in Southport.
The 29-year-old had been spotted by police driving dangerously in the town in the early hours of February 1.
He led officers on a chase, hitting speeds of up to 90mph in a 30mph area, and officers lost sight of the vehicle.
After submerging the car into the lake, Mason managed to free himself and went home to ring the police, claiming it had been stolen.
Officers visited his home to make note of a statement, while crime scene investigators took fingerprints.
He later confessed to making the story up and admitted to being responsible for crashing the car.
Sefton Council said the cost of repairing the damage to the shelter and surrounding barrier would be between £90,000 to £150,000.
Dangerous driver Harry Mason was handed a suspended prison sentence
|CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE
The car also had to be lifted out of the lake using a crane, at a further cost to the council.
The local authority said in a statement: "This damage was caused by the selfish actions of one person and could clearly have been avoided. It is a miracle that nobody was killed or injured.
"The damage will be repaired and this lovely, ornate shelter will once again be cherished by the community.
"It is just unfortunate that precious staff time and resources are having to be diverted following an event that should never have happened but did, due to the stupid actions of one selfish individual who clearly did not care about his fellow citizens and the privilege of living in such a beautiful town as Southport."
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The damage caused to the shelter is believed to be worth more than £90,000
|CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE
Mason pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle dangerously and committing an act with intent to pervert the course of justice at Liverpool Crown Court on August 27.
On October 20, he was handed a 14-month jail term suspended for two years and banned from driving for 18 months.
He is also required to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation activity, 240 hours of unpaid work and is subject to an electronic curfew for four months between 8pm until 6am.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Rachel Worthington, of the Crown Prosecution Service in Mersey-Cheshire, said: "It is unclear what led Harry Mason to do what he did that night.
"His driving was dangerous and ended in thousands of pounds of damage to a much-loved local piece of architecture and the Mercedes car being wrecked.
"A night of madness that Mason must now come to terms with and no doubt regret for a long time to come."
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