A MAN who sped past a busy primary school during a police chase round central Bradford has been jailed for 17 months.

Usman Ellahi accelerated off in his Volkswagen Golf when officers ordered him to stop on Grattan Road, Bradford Crown Court heard this week.

The incident began at 3.50pm on March 19,

The police had spotted two men on Sunbridge Road who looked like they were waiting to be sold drugs.

Ellahi was heading towards them and his passenger was later found to have cannabis on him, it was stated.

Ellahi was pursued by the police along Sunbridge Road and down roads including Rebecca Street, Worthington Street and Springfield Street.

Prosecutor Giles Bridge said he failed to give way to oncoming vehicles at junctions, forcing the other drivers to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

He sped along a cobbled street at 60mph and down the city’s Lumb Lane at 80mph.

Ellahi, 26, of Hedge Way, Fairweather Green, Bradford, exceeded the speed limit past Green Lane Primary School at a time when the children and their parents were leaving for the day. He was caught by the police on Whetley Hill when he was held up in heavy traffic.

Ellahi, who had eight points on his licence already, at first denied the offence, telling officers he did not speed.

He later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop for the police and driving without insurance.

His barrister, Nigel Jamieson, said his client conceded that his decision to drive in that manner was “an act of stupidity.”

The offence took place seven months ago and Ellahi had now sold the car.

He had not been at the wheel of another vehicle since, the court heard.

Mr Jamieson said he was determined to lead a responsible life and not to trouble the courts again.

Judge Jonathan Rose banned Ellahi from driving for two years and eight months.

He told him: “You are going to prison today because that is where dangerous drivers should go, and that is where dangerous drivers will go.”

Judge Rose said Ellahi could have lost control of the car in the wet and slippery conditions and killed or injured, children, parents or teachers at the primary school.

“When the blue lights come on, you stop. If you don’t, and you drive like you did, you will go to prison,” the judge stated.

Ellahi must take an extended retest before he can drive again.

At the beginning of this year, judges sitting at Bradford Crown Court received file from police outlining the impact dangerous driving has on the district’s communities.

The “community impact statement”, to be used when sentencing those convicted of the crime, reinforced the belief that the district was “plagued” by those showing no regard for the rules of the road, with the risk of death and injury deemed “appallingly high”.