A DRIVER who led police on an 80mph chase on roads in the Holme Wood area of Bradford has been jailed for ten months.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Callum Ahmed, 21, sped away from officers on April 23, with the four-minute pursuit taking in roads including Tong Street, Knowles Lane, and Rushmoor Road.

At one point, the defendant got “boxed in” on Dudley Hill roundabout, and rammed two cars belonging to other drivers to escape onto the central reservation and continue the chase. After trying to dump and flee the vehicle, a hired Volkswagen Golf leased to a friend, on Denbury Mount, Ahmed was caught, telling police he “panicked” as he had no licence or insurance.

The defendant, of Sandygate Terrace, Bradford, admitted a charge of dangerous driving.

Imposing a two-year driving ban alongside his jail term, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC (pictured) said: “You know what the message is in Bradford, see the blue lights, you stop.

"This was four minutes of appalling driving, by nature of the speed and the risk created."

Judge Durham Hall reiterated that a community impact statement existed demonstrating the prevalence of dangerous driving in Bradford, and said that "robust" sentences handed down by the courts were now having a positive effect.

He said: "This is having a marked impact, I am advised by senior police officers. I must continue to do my public duty, unpleasant though it is."