A CHARITY youth worker is starting a five-month jail term after leading police on a high-speed chase around the estate where he worked, before hiding in bed.

Coran Oxley had been praised for his work with The Edge Project, which aims to keep young people from falling ‘over the edge’ into crime or anti-social behaviour on Bradford’s deprived Holme Wood estate.

But yesterday the father-of-two was led to the cells sobbing, after being jailed for dangerous driving and driving without insurance.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Oxley had been driving his partner’s mother’s Ford Focus with one passenger on board on June 17 last year.

Prosecuting, Jonathan Sharp said it had been a warm, Saturday morning when the Holme Wood estate was busy with pedestrians young and old.

He said police officers in a marked car saw Oxley cutting a corner, noticed that he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and turned round to pull him over.

He said: “He accelerated off, overtaking two cars. They activated the lights and sirens but he continued to pay no heed to this.”

Mr Sharp said the resulting chase saw Oxley driving 60mph in a 30mph zone, mounting the pavement at one point and fleeing the car when he ended up in a cul-de-sac.

Pursued by police, Oxley then went into his own house, “got out of the clothes he was wearing and got into bed”, Mr Sharp said, but was found and arrested.

Oxley, 21, of St Margaret’s Avenue, Holme Wood, pleaded guilty to both charges.

Mitigating for Oxley, Alasdair Campbell said he had panicked on the day, as he had borrowed the car he was driving.

He said he had originally gone into community work after after being helped by youth workers himself when he was younger.

He said: “He has come back a youth worker to assist those that come from the same sort of background as he did.”

He said Oxley had recently been promoted to supervisor at the charity, having worked his way up “from a difficult background” to a position of responsibility.

He said: “That’s one of the reasons he feels so ashamed as to what he has done.

“He recognises he is not a good example to those he is assisting.”

He urged Judge David Hatton QC not to jail Oxley immediately but instead give him a suspended sentence, meaning he would not serve time behind bars unless he reoffended during his probation period.

He said the defendant had a young daughter and a baby son and was “effectively the sole breadwinner within the family environment at the moment”.

But Judge Hatton refused this request, instead opting to jail Oxley for five months.

He said: “This city is plagued with dangerous drivers.”

Judge Hatton said he recognised Oxley’s previous good character and “considerable success” as a youth worker.

He said: “But, for an offence of dangerous driving during the course of a police pursuit, whoever it is that is responsible and whatever he or she can claim by way of character, immediate custody can be expected save in exceptional circumstances.

MORE TOP STORIES

“I have no doubt at all that you have panicked, as has been said on your behalf, but that is a frequent excuse of those who drive in this manner and it has to be discouraged, I’m afraid, with an immediate custodial sentence.”

Oxley was also disqualified from driving for 62 weeks.

As he was taken away, he began sobbing, saying: “I’ve lost everything. I’ve got two kids at home. It was a mistake.”

The Edge Project declined to comment to the Telegraph & Argus yesterday.