A banned driver who led police on a dangerous high-speed chase that left seven people injured has been jailed for 17 months.

Judge Roger Scott told Michael Boyle, 21, that he was lucky he had not killed someone after hearing that he had reached speeds of up to 90mph in a stolen vehicle.

Passing sentence Judge Scott said that had the maximum sentence he was allowed to impose been five years instead of two-and-a-half he would have jailed Boyle for three-and-a-half years.

He noted that the maximum tariff for dangerous driving had not been changed since he first came to the Bar in 1968 and said that he was also obliged to reduce the sentence by 15 per cent.

He said: "You will receive maximum credit due to you, a discount of 33.3 per cent. In some people's view you do not deserve a single day taken off your sentence because you had no alternative to plead guilty. I'm following the guidelines set out by the Sentencing Guidelines Council and by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division by giving you a 33.3 per cent discount and a 15 per cent discount.

"The maximum sentence which can be imposed on someone for dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified is 30 months. I reduce that by 15 per cent to 26 months and give you a discount of a third to sentence you to 17 months."

Prosecutor Gavin Howie told Bradford Crown Court that Boyle, who has two previous convictions for dangerous driving, was seen by police on Oddy Road, Tong, on Saturday, April 1, in a Volkswagen Passat which had been taken in a burglary.

Officers put on their blue lights, but Boyle sped away in the direction of the city centre, reaching speeds of 70mph.

He was overtaking vehicles on the wrong side of the road and reached 90mph as he went on to Wakefield Road. He then sped through a red light at 70mph, swerving to avoid other vehicles.

Mr Howie said he then hit several cars before smashing into a set of railings.

Boyle tried to run off but was caught by police after a short chase.

A number of cars were damaged and seven people were left with minor injuries, the court was told.

When he was interviewed, Boyle, of no fixed address, made no comment but at an earlier hearing pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.

His barrister Helen Holmes told the court that Boyle was now free of drugs and was motivated to change, adding that he had not been involved in the taking of the car. But Judge Scott said that driving as bad as this often resulted in a death and referred to a case he dealt with two weeks before when he jailed Ryan Shepherd for six years after he admitted causing the death of Ivars Dzergacs through dangerous driving.

He said: "This was a very bad piece of driving. A young boy of 17, driving at 70 mph on a busy road, smashed into a car - killing a passenger in the car that was travelling through the green light and making a paraplegic of one of his passengers, and seriously damaging another passenger.

"That's what happens when you drive through red lights at 70mph. It's only by extreme fortune that you only have seven people with minor injuries and no deaths."

Boyle was also banned from driving for six years and told that he will have to take an extended test to get his licence back.

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