A DRIVER led police on a 30-mile chase reaching speeds of 100mph - zooming on after his exhaust pipe fell off and two tyres were burst by a stinger.

Joshua Nelson hadn't bothered to insure his elderly Volvo because he thought it unfit to drive, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Nelson, 23, overtook a police vehicle at speed at 5am on September 13 and was pursued by patrol cars and the police helicopter in an area around the M62 for 38 miles.

Prosecutor Georgina Goring said he jumped red lights at 70mph and narrowly missed a cyclist.

Nelson's exhaust pipe bounced off and his car span in a junction.

He drove on after two tyres were deflated by a police stinger, out of control and with sparks flying from the wheels.

When he was blocked in on Hullen Edge Road, Elland, Nelson fled on foot but was caught when he fell over.

His girlfriend, 22, who was in the car with him, was visibly shaking, Miss Goring said.

Nelson, of Saltburn Street, Halifax, had bought the Volvo a week earlier and did not insure it because he did not consider it roadworthy.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and having no insurance, in breach of a community order imposed the previous month for handling a stolen motorcycle.

Nelson's barrister, Stephen Wood, said of the driving: "It was ridiculously dangerous, stupid, irresponsible."

But his client was a young man who admitted his guilt at the earliest opportunity.

Jailing Nelson for 14 months, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said: "There would be howls of protest and outrage from the citizens of this county if I did not send you to prison."

He banned him from driving for three years.