A YOUNG man who was highly regarded in the community drove dangerously after panicking when police asked him to stop, a court heard.

Bradford Crown Court was told Mohammed Bilal, 21, could have killed someone as he led police on a chase through the city, which ended when he crashed into a lorry.

Nobody was hurt during the incident, but Judge David Hatton QC told Bilal: "The driving you embarked upon was lamentable and placed people in grave danger, at a time when there were many people about.

"It's only your good fortune that no-one was seriously injured, or even killed."

The court was told the incident happened at 4.45pm on Friday, October 23, when police asked Bilal to stop at Jacob's Well, in Bradford city centre.

He was pursued along Hall Ings and to Sticker Lane, where his Ford Fiesta car hit a kerb, blowing out a back tyre. The pursuit ended in Rooley Lane, when he was in collision with a lorry.

Bilal, of Rooley Close, Odsal, Bradford, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance.

His barrister, Michael Greenhalgh, said his client had never behaved in such a way before. He had no previous convictions and was not likely to trouble the courts again. He had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, was still very young, and nobody had been hurt.

Mr Greenhalgh said Bilal borrowed the car and did not know it was marked by police as stolen. He was uninsured and panicked when police approached him.

Mr Greenhalgh said: "He knows his driving was completely inappropriate and dangerous. He is genuinely sorry about what he did."

He said the defendant, who suffers from a form of muscular dystrophy, was well thought of by his family and others in the community. He had gained A levels and started an engineering course and now worked as a chef at a local takeaway.

Judge Hatton told Bilal: "There are people who have taken the trouble to write to the court, setting out the positive features in your life and work within the community. You have brought considerable shame and sadness upon your family."

But the judge said a short sentence of imprisonment would not help the defendant, nor would it be necessary for the protection of the public.

Bilal was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work, with a three-month curfew between 10pm and 6am. he was disqualified from driving for a year.