A BIKER who panicked and “floored it” when the police ordered him to stop has been jailed for eight months for dangerous driving.

Luke Dacey sped off because he was riding his motorcycle without a licence or insurance, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Dacey, 23, of Melton Terrace, Ravenscliffe, Bradford, was ordered to stop by police on patrol in Rimswell Holt, Greengates, in the city, at just after 5pm on August 25.

Prosecutor Paul Nicholson said that Dacey had previous convictions for driving without a licence or insurance.

those convictions dated from 2015 and 2017.

Officers in a marked police vehicle suspected the bike might be stolen and wanted to question both Dacey and the rider travelling with him, the court was told.

Dacey, who had bought the motorcycle, was pursued by the police along Rookwith Parade and nearby Ruswarp Crescent, which runs off Harrogate Road.

Mr Nicholson said Dacey was speeding at 50mph in a 30mph zone during the “blue light” pursuit in which he clipped the kerb, almost losing control of the bike, and weaved in and out of traffic.

He stopped on Harrogate Road, Eccleshill, and was arrested.

The other biker was lost from view during the pursuit.

Dacey was immediately frank with the police, telling officers: “I floored it.”

He said he accelerated away because he had no licence or insurance and he panicked when he saw the patrol vehicle.

The bike, legally purchased by Dacey, had been seized by the police, the court was told.

Dacey’s barrister, Abigail Langford, said no one was injured and no damage was done during the two-minute pursuit.

Dacey had made immediate admissions to the police and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, to dangerous driving and driving unlicensed and uninsured.

He was very interested in motorcycles and keen to work with them, Miss Langford said.

Dacey was a vulnerable man who lacked consequential thinking skills, the court heard.

He could be helped by the probation service rather than going immediately to prison, she told the court.

Judge Jonathan Rose said Dacey bought the motorcycle knowing he had not passed a driving test and was uninsured to ride it.

He had caused danger to other road users at a busy time of the day.

Judge Rose stressed again that people who ignored a police order to stop and were pursued by officers would be locked up.

“When the blue lights go on, you stop or you go to prison,” he said.

Dacey was banned from driving for two years and four months.