A BRADFORD man who has never passed a driving test and has been banned from getting behind the wheel nine times over the past 25 years has been jailed.

Kevin Holmes, 42, became involved in a lengthy police pursuit after officers saw him driving a Skoda Octavia without wearing a seatbelt on Manningham Lane at around 1pm on Sunday, April 16.

As he sped away from officers, he reached speeds of between 70 and 80mph in 30 and 40mph zones, including Hamm Strasse and Shipley Airedale Road, forcing other motorists to take evasive action to avoid a head-on collision.

Prosecutor Giles Grant told Bradford Crown Court that one female driver had to swerve to avoid Holmes as he sped towards the junction of Greenwood Drive and Radcliffe Avenue in Swain House.

She told police the experience had left her “terrified”, stating: “I couldn’t believe what the driver was doing.”

Holmes eventually crashed into a parked Ford Fiesta on his home street of Swain House Crescent, with officers finding him hiding behind a tree in a nearby garden.

He gave a no comment interview to police, but told a probation officer he was using crack cocaine at the time of the offence.

He said he had “not been thinking straight” after splitting up with his partner of 13 years, and had “panicked” after police tried to stop him.

He had initially denied the offence to magistrates, but pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance at his first Crown Court appearance.

Felicity Hemlin, for Holmes, said her client was trying to “get his life together” and pursue a career as a drug support worker.

Recorder Abdul Iqbal QC said Holmes had an “appalling” criminal record including 34 convictions for 88 offences.

He listed nine instances of driving while disqualified since 1992, and told Holmes his record showed he had “no regard for other road users.”

He said: “You have never passed a test to drive lawfully on the roads.

“This was a Sunday in the middle of the day, people must have been out on the streets.

“It is merciful that no serious injuries or fatalities were caused.

“The court has bent over backwards to help you in the past.

“My principle is to protect the public from you and this kind of driving.”

Holmes was sentenced to 18 months in prison and banned from driving for three years.

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