A BANNED driver has been jailed for 14 months after the police helicopter was scrambled to track him on an eight-mile pursuit along winding country roads at up to 85mph.

Abdulahad Hamid shot off along Allerton Road, Bradford, in a hired BMW 320, diverting a patrol car from an emergency to chase after him.

Hamid was driving at 75mph in a 30-zone, forcing his way through oncoming traffic that had to take evasive action to avoid hitting his vehicle.

He took a tight bend at 85mph, whizzing past a cyclist and a dog walker who was standing on the edge of the road, prosecutor Alisha Kaye told Bradford Crown Court on Friday.

He undertook, overtook and accelerated over speed bumps at 60mph.

The pursuing police officers dropped back for safety reasons and the helicopter tracked Hamid’s white car along Keighley Road towards Denholme. He crossed on to the wrong side of the road and overtook 16 vehicles on that stretch of carriageway.

He ran a red light at the junction with Thornton Road before stopping the car and getting out with his hands in the air.

Miss Kaye said it was an 8.7-mile pursuit lasting 11 minutes.

Hamid told the police he saw the blue lights and “didn’t think to stop” because he wasn’t in the right frame of mind.

He was a disqualified driver who had taken the BMW his mother had hired without her permission because he wanted to visit his girlfriend in Halifax.

Hamid, 21, of Victoria Road East, Leicester, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, aggravated vehicle taking, and driving without insurance at 1pm on Sunday June 9.

He had a previous conviction for wounding and he committed the offences just over a month after he received a six-month driving ban.

Hamid’s solicitor advocate, Ashok Khullar, said his client acted impulsively and the offences were out of character.

He eventually came to his senses and stopped the car so that the police could arrest him.

Hamid told officers he knew he had been stupid. His employer had provided references stating that he was a hard-working apprentice.

Judge David Hatton QC said: “It was the most outrageous piece of driving over a prolonged and protracted period at horrific speeds through built-up areas and along narrow country lanes.”

Hamid had overtaken and undertaken, driven on the wrong side of the road and jumped a red light.

He had been banned from driving just over a month earlier.

Hamid was banned from driving for 18 months and he must take an extended retest to get his licence back.