A DRIVER who boasted he was "one of the best drivers in BD9" even though he hasn't got a licence has been jailed after leading police on a 20-minute pursuit in a stolen car that reached speeds of up to 90mph.

Saif Ahmed, 21, went through numerous red lights and junctions, went round blind bends on the wrong side of the road and over traffic calming street furniture at high speed, Bradford Crown Court heard.

He led police from Green Lane in Bradford to Halifax and back via Queensbury before finally crashing on Thornton Road, knocking a wheel off the stolen Ford Fiesta, in the incident on September 15, 2017.

He was arrested at the scene and complimented the police driver who had been chasing him: "I'll give it to him, he's not a bad driver."

Ahmed, of Midland Road, Bradford, was sentenced to 22 months in prison for dangerous driving, handling stolen goods, having no insurance and no driving licence and two counts of failing to surrender to custody.

Judge Jonathan Rose said the maximum he could have jailed Ahmed for was 24 months for the most serious cases "not that I think it's adequate".

But because Ahmed "did not in fact kill anyone or damage a vehicle" he had to take a lower starting point of 20 months for sentencing.

He said of Ahmed, who has a partner who is due to have a child in August: "You're due to be blessed with a child.

"How many of the drivers you put at risk have children? How many children may have been left without a parent because [the officers] had to pursue you? You didn't care.

"It was an appalling piece of driving. It lasted 20 minutes and it would take me 18 minutes to relate every piece of dangerous driving."

He said many drivers coming the other way were "clearly terrified" by the prospect of possible death as they swerved out of Ahmed's way.

"Yet you're proud of it."

Judge Rose added: "The message when police put on blue lights and sirens you stop.

"Where there is a speed limit and red lights you abide by them."

The court heard that the Fiesta was stolen from a home in Bingley two days before the pursuit.

The house was broken into while the householders were asleep and the keys to the car, which was worth £18,000 when new, were taken.

The car was spotted with false number plates by police officers on September 15 when it turned into Green Lane, Bradford. The officers had heard the vehicle travelling from the Queensbury direction at speed so they decided to pursue it with blue lights but the driver refused to stop.

Police video showed the 15-mile pursuit which involved four police cars before he was boxed in after hitting a kerb. The driver went towards Halifax and then back via Bradshaw and Queensbury to reach Bradford city centre on Great Horton Road.

Ahmed was also disqualified for a total of 53 months.