A UNIVERSITY student has been jailed after he ran red lights and narrowly missed hitting other cars during an early hours police pursuit.

Connor Deans, 22, was given a suspended sentence for a previous dangerous driving offence last summer, but in October this year he was caught driving an Audi S3 in Wyke when he was still banned and had no insurance. Bradford Crown Court heard that Deans was given bail after being charged with those offences, but he failed to turn up for a court hearing in November and was “wanted” on a warrant when he was involved in his second dangerous driving incident four weeks ago.

Prosecutor Abdul Shakoor said Deans was seen driving a Vauxhall Astra erratically on Canal Road in the early hours of December 3 and three police vehicles were involved in a 15-minute pursuit over three miles.

Mr Shakoor described how the Astra was driven at speeds up to 80mph on city centre roads. He said Deans had also driven through three red lights and ignored give-way junctions and traffic-calming measures. On two occasions, Deans drove on the wrong side of the road and one driver had to brake sharply to avoid a head-on collision. Mr Shakoor said the defendant ignored the presence of a taxi on a mini-roundabout, causing that driver to do an emergency stop.

When Deans eventually stopped the Astra and tried to run away, but he was arrested after a short foot chase.

In 2013 Deans, of Raymond Street, West Bowling, Bradford, was given a lengthy sentence of detention for drug offences and last summer he was made the subject of a suspended custodial sentence for dangerous driving.

Deans pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and failing to surrender to court in relation to his latest car crimes. Barrister James Bourne-Arton, for Deans, said the dangerous driving was caused by panic when his client realised he was going to be arrested on the warrant and recalled on his licence. He said Deans had a place at Bradford University to study accountancy and he had put that in jeopardy.

Judge David Hatton QC said Deans’ recent history revealed that he had no regard for road traffic laws or the safety of others. Deans was jailed for a total of 26 months and banned from driving for 31 months.