AN "IDIOTIC" teenage driver has been locked up after trying to "outrun" police during a chase around a busy Bradford estate.

Callum Dobbs, 18, "panicked" after police saw him driving a silver Peugeot 307 on Rowan Tree Drive in Thorpe Edge just before 2pm on October 7 last year.

Suspecting he was driving above the 30mph limit, officers indicated for the "nervous-looking" Dobbs to stop, but instead he sped away, accelerating up to speeds of around 50mph.

Prosecutor Chloe Fairley told Bradford Crown Court that Dobbs flew over speed bumps, also narrowly missing one car as it began to pull out of a junction.

The court heard that the pavements of the narrow streets were busy with pedestrians, including young children playing on bikes.

The 90-second pursuit, over the distance of about a mile, came to an end when Dobbs failed to negotiate a mini-roundabout and dumped the car against a wall.

He tried to run off across some grassland towards a block of flats, but officers who had followed him in their patrol car were able to apprehend him.

The defendant gave a no comment interview to police, but when the case was discussed at an earlier court hearing, he indicated he would offer a guilty plea to careless driving, but not the dangerous driving charge that was ultimately admitted.

Witnessing footage of the chase, Judge Robert Bartfield said: "Whoever suggested this was careless driving must have had a keen sense of humour, to say the least."

Nigel Jamieson, defending, said his client, who is due to become a father in August, had made an "idiotic decision" in trying to flee police.

He said: "The defendant is under no illusion as to how seriously these offences are taken, particularly in this city.

"But without ignoring the public's concern for such cases in Bradford, he can be punished severely in the community."

Judge Bartfield said he could afford Dobbs some credit for his guilty plea, despite it coming on the day of a proposed trial.

Referring to the chase, he said: "You tried to outrun the police car. You only stopped when you lost control at a roundabout and it seems to me, hit a wall."

The judge said while he accepted testimonials that Dobbs was a "decent young man" with no previous convictions, the existence of a community impact statement by police highlighting the prevalence of dangerous driving in Bradford meant he had to impose a 14-week term in a young offenders institution.

He told Dobbs: "Bradford has been affected by young people who try to outrun police and put people's lives in danger.

"The courts can only respond with immediate custodial sentences."

Dobbs, who also admitted having no licence or insurance, was also banned from driving for 20 months.