A DANGER driver was told he was lucky to avoid prison after admitting to driving in an “inexplicable” manner after being ordered to stop by police.

Reece Midgley, 22, sat with his head in his hands when told he would not be sent to jail at Bradford Crown Court today for the offence, committed on June 3, 2019.

Midgley, a new father, appeared bespectacled and dressed in a black suit and purple tie in the dock, while the extent of his episode of dangerous driving was laid out to the court.

The court heard how on June 3, 2019, he was caught driving dangerously along Skipton Road in Keighley, and when asked to stop by police failed to do so, leading them on a chase in which other vehicles were damaged and the public was put at serious risk of harm.

The chase ended when the Renault Clio being driven by Midgley, of Firth Street, Eastby, flipped onto its roof after spinning out of control.

In sentencing Midgley, Recorder Richard Wright QC said: “You pleaded guilty before your trial to a serious offence of dangerous driving more than two and a half years ago, when you were just 20 years old.

“Quite unusually, you had a valid driving licence and were insured to drive the vehicle you were in, but what followed was more inexplicable.

“A quite staggering episode of dangerous driving, chased by police and colliding with other vehicles and placing pedestrians and other road users at a serious risk of being killed or seriously injured.

“It was a serious and prolonged period of dangerous driving that ended in a crash with your vehicle spinning out of control and landing on its roof.

“Those who drive like this can expect immediate custody. But, you pleaded guilty, which I take into account, and there has been an inexplicable delay of two and a half years between the offence and today’s hearing with no explanation from the Crown Prosecution Service; that is not your fault.

“You have grown up a lot since then, you have a child and I have heard how good of a father you are.

“It seems it would be unfair of me, so long after the offence, to deprive your child of its father. This is an exceptional case.”

Midgley was handed a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, banned from driving for two years, and ordered to complete 30 days of rehabilitation activities.

He was told if he reoffends in the next 18 months he will be brought to court and resentenced, and could be sent to jail to serve his 12 month sentence, and was also told that he must take an extended driving test to regain his licence at the end of his disqualification period.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk