DRIVERS arrested for causing danger on the roads should have their vehicles seized by the police with a view to the courts taking them away permanently, a judge said today.

Judge Jonathan Rose made a deprivation order for a Mercedes driven dangerously by Tosif Imran who was a banned driver in breach of a suspended sentence for driving while disqualified.

Imran, 23, of Whitby Road, Girlington, Bradford, was jailed for a total of 18 months at Bradford Crown Court today.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on April 3, with no licence or insurance, three months after he was handed the suspended sentence for driving while disqualified.

Prosecutor Ryan Donoghue said that police officers spotted Imran doing an illegal U turn in the Mercedes on Thornton Road, Bradford. A short pursuit followed in which he ran red lights and drove on the wrong side of the road at excessive speed.

Cannabis was found in the car along with a partially smoked cannabis cigarette. Imran tested positive at the roadside for cannabis and cocaine.

Mr Donoghue said that he was convicted of dangerous driving in 2018 as one of six driving offences on his record.

The court heard that Imran had persisted in the lie that he wasn’t driving the Mercedes. He was remanded in custody on Monday and went on to plead guilty.

His barrister, Soheil Khan, conceded that he should not have been driving at all that night.

He panicked because he knew he was disqualified and tried to get away from the police.

Mr Khan said that thankfully the pursuit was short-lived with no damage or injury caused.

Imran, who cared for his poorly mother, knew he was going straight to jail.

Judge Rose sentenced him to 15 months’ imprisonment for dangerous driving and activated the 12 week suspended sentence to run consecutively.

Imran was banned from driving for 39 months and until he passes an extended test.

Judge Rose asked who owned the Mercedes and was told it belonged to a friend of Imran’s. He made a deprivation order on the vehicle, giving the friend time to claim it back.

He said the police should always seize such cars and find out who owned them with a view to the courts making a deprivation order if they belonged to a convicted dangerous driver.

He told Imran he had maintained “an absolute lie” that he wasn’t the driver until after his court appearance on Monday.

He had sped off, looming up at other drivers in the dark at great speed, with two passengers on board, just three months after receiving the suspended sentence.