A banned driver who sped up a major Bradford highway on the wrong side of the road before ramming a police car has been jailed for 21 months and banned from driving for six years.

Watching CCTV footage of Qasim Hussain’s Audi tearing down the Shipley-Airedale Road on the opposite carriageway, Judge Peter Benson described the recklessness of his driving as “mind boggling”.

Hussain, 25, of Oakroyd Terrace, Manningham, Bradford, already had a “dreadful record” of driving offences when he was pursued by the police from Leeds Road at 11.30pm on Bonfire Night last year.

The list included repeat convictions for driving with excess alcohol, uninsured driving and driving while disqualified and he had served a two-year jail sentence for dangerous driving.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp said yesterday that Hussain was on bail on November 5 after being arrested for perverting the course of justice, driving while disqualified, drink-driving at almost twice the legal limit and having no insurance.

He was stopped in Wakefield on August 26 and gave the police two false names, including that of his brother.

Back behind the wheel in Bradford on Bonfire Night, Hussain sped off at up to 70mph when the police followed him on Leeds Road. A camera in the officers’ vehicle shows him stopping, getting out of the Audi and then driving off again.

After turning on to the wrong side of the A650 ring road, Hussain drove down a cul-de-sac, ramming his way past the police car causing £2,700 damage.

CCTV footage from the patrol vehicle and from Bradford Council cameras show Hussain speeding past a Greggs delivery van going the right way along the ring road.

Mr Sharp said the van driver was so alarmed he pulled up to report what he had seen to the police.

At this point, officers judged Hussain’s driving to be so dangerous that it was not advisable to continue the pursuit.

He turned on to Bolton Road and was arrested when he pulled up in Exmouth Place.

He “stoutly maintained” he was not the driver and refused to give a breath specimen, although he smelled strongly of drink, Mr Sharp said.

Hussain admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and failing to provide a specimen.

His barrister, Abdul Iqbal, said: “The driving is, I accept, appalling. There is no other sensible word to describe it.”

Judge Benson said: “This was a very, very bad piece of dangerous driving indeed and it was fortunate that nobody was killed or injured.”