A MAN who performed a U-turn during a police chase to drive the wrong way up a slip road on one of Bradford’s busiest streets has been jailed.

Keith Whitehead, 25, was seen by officers as he overtook four cars at speed in Fenby Road to cut in front of them at the junction with Wakefield Road.

Prosecutor Abigail Langford told Bradford Crown Court that when police activated their blue lights and indicated for the defendant to pull over, he sped off at around 70mph towards Dudley Hill roundabout.

As he encountered stationary traffic, Whitehead mounted the kerb and a traffic island to access the slip road from Sticker Lane onto Tong Street, forcing other motorists to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

He then made a U-turn to head towards oncoming traffic before being forced to drive onto a grass bank.

He got out of the car and tried to flee, but was caught after a short foot chase. Police had to use an incapacitant spray during Whitehead’s arrest, with the court hearing he pushed an officer trying to restrain him.

Investigations into the car, which the defendant had bought on Gumtree, found it was fitted with false registration plates.

Police said the incident took place in “heavy traffic” at around 3.20pm, just as some local schools were finishing for the day.

Whitehead, of Armadale Avenue, Bierley, Bradford, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, and obstructing a PC.

Miss Langford said the defendant had previous convictions for driving while banned, one in 2014 and two in 2017. She said that in June last year, Whitehead was given a two-month suspended sentence for driving while disqualified, which he was in breach of by way of his latest offending.

Rodney Ferm, in mitigation, said Whitehead worked as a scaffolder alongside acting as a carer for his mother, who had a disabling back injury.

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He said: “I know what the attitude of the court is to dangerous driving in this city, particularly when a blue light is turned on and that doesn’t end proceedings. His motive was to get away because he realised he was in deep trouble. His problem is motorcars, and his inability to stay away from them.”

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, reiterated the contents of a community impact statement, provided to the courts in February, outlining the prevalence of dangerous driving across the district.

He told Whitehead: “Police are on the lookout in Bradford. It is a problem. The message is clear, and it is welcome. When the blue light is on, you stop, we all stop.”

Describing the defendant’s driving, he said: “You ended up coming down a slip road into oncoming traffic. It must have been horrific for all concerned.”

Jailing Whitehead for 14 months with a two-year driving ban, the judge said: “The bottom line is I can’t let you go, you know that. You’re drinking in the last chance saloon. If you get into another car, we’ll throw the book at you.”