House, parked cars hit by police car allegedly driven by handcuffed man

Sydney: A man handcuffed and in the back of a marked police car has allegedly been able to clamber over to the driver’s seat for an unsuccessful attempt at freedom.Instead, the suspect will be refused bail to appear in Maitland Local Court on Monday after allegedly crashing into two parked cars before ripping out the awning of an Ashtonfield house on Sunday.Police had been called to an alleged domestic dispute on South Seas Drive on Sunday morning and quickly took the suspect, aged in his 30s, into custody.But after being put in the back seat of the marked police car as officers spoke to a woman, who had suffered a small laceration to her hand, the car took off.Officers saw the marked car crashed into two parked cars before heading onto the front lawn of the Ashtonfield home and hitting the house.The impact caused some structural damage to the house. The man was not injured in the crash and was taken to Maitland Police Station before being taken to hospital for observation.The suspect was arrested for the second time, returned to Maitland Police Station and charged with nine offences: common assault (DV), armed with intent, contravene AVO, take & drive conveyance, drive manner dangerous, disqualified driving, escape police custody, reckless wounding (DV) and breach of bail.