A teenage driver who dragged PC Andrew Harper to his death has told jurors he feels “disgraceful” about what happened. Henry Long, 19, was allegedly trying to evade arrest after trying to steal a £10,000 quad bike from a house in Berkshire, in the UK, on 15 August last year. Harper, 28, got out of his patrol car to chase after a suspect and his ankles became entangled in a tow strap attached to Long’s Seat Toledo car. The officer was pulled along winding country lanes for more than a mile before he became disentangled. He suffered catastrophic injuries. Within hours of Harper’s death, Long and his two passengers, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 18, were arrested. Long initially denied involvement in the incident and told police in a prepared statement that he had been watching DVDs of The Goonies and Fast And Furious. Long, Bowers and Cole, from near Reading, have denied Harper’s murder but admitted conspiracy to steal the quad bike. Long has also admitted the manslaughter of Harper, but denied intending to harm him. Giving evidence at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, Long accepted that he had killed the officer. The defence barrister, Rossano Scamardella QC, said: “You pleaded guilty to manslaughter – why?” Long said: “Because I accept that I killed him from what I was doing, the way I was driving.” When Scamardella asked “how do you feel?”, the defendant replied: “Disgraceful.” Long told jurors he could not sleep and thought about Harper’s family and how they felt. He said he was unaware Harper was attached to his car, adding: “If I was aware I would have stopped the vehicle, tried to save him.” Scamardella said: “Did you ever have any intention to hurt him? Or kill him?” Long said: “Not in any way.” The lawyer asked: “Did you care about what happened?” Long said: “The fact he died, yes.” Long told the court that on the afternoon of 15 August he had been looking “for stuff to steal” when he came across a quad bike in Stanford Dingley. After failing in a first attempt to take it he returned under cover of darkness with Cole and Bowers, the court heard. Having rolled the bike away, Cole steered it as Long towed it behind the Seat, jurors heard. Confronted in the road by Harper’s police patrol car, Cole got out to unhook the bike, the court heard. Long told jurors: “I would not leave anybody behind so I waited for him [Cole]. I was about to leave him behind because I could not see him or hear him, then he jumped in the window.” Scamardella said: “Were you aware that PC Harper had got caught in the rope at the back?” Long said: “No.” Describing the getaway, he said: “The car was always in gear rolling. Once Cole jumped in, I just revved the throttle and went.” Long told jurors he drove fast, even on tight corners. Asked why, he said: “Because I have had experience with police chases before. I knew where the police were going to be waiting for us.” Long’s passengers were shouting to “go this way, go that way, slow down”, the defendant said, adding: “Everyone talking at each other saying this and that. I got annoyed because I’m trying to concentrate on getting away and people telling me how to drive, telling me what to do. I told them to shut the fuck up, let me drive, put the music on.” Scamardella asked: “Could you hear anything during that stretch of the journey being dragged behind you?” The defendant denied that he had heard anything of the kind. After crossing the A4 without stopping he spotted blue lights and “floored it”, he said. On route to the Four Houses Corner caravan site, Long managed to lose the police pursuit. Hours later, all three defendants were arrested after the Seat was located by a police helicopter, jurors heard. Long told jurors he lived with his parents and five siblings and was part of the travelling community. Like his father and grandfather he was a thief, he said, stealing quad bikes and mechanical equipment. Of his father’s and grandfather’s pursuits, he said: “It’s not a proud thing to admit.” Long was taken out of school by his father in year 8 after being given detention, the court heard. The trial continues.