A danger driver came to a ‘harsh’ stop with sparks flying from his wheels after leading the police on a high speed pursuit, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Aaron Rouse was said to have done 95mph in a 30 zone while his VW Golf was being chased across central Bradford after 11pm on September 9 last year.

Rouse, 33, of Mount Avenue, Eccleshill, Bradford, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in the city’s Gain Lane area.

He was spared an immediate jail sentence after Recorder Anthony Kelbrick heard that he was a hardworking family man, highly thought of by his employer.

Prosecutor Paul Canfield told the court that Rouse disputed the speed he was said to have driven at and admitted the offence on the basis that he was not driving the Golf when it sped away from the police earlier that evening.

The court heard that the police lost sight of the car after they first saw it on Fagley Road and tried to stop it.

An officer then saw the Golf driving past in the Sticker Lane area. It was reported to have done 95mph in a 30 zone after it accelerated away.

It was pursued along Fenby Avenue into a cul-de-sac at Bertie Street where it came to ‘a harsh stop’ emitting sparks from the front wheels.

Rouse, who had a passenger with him, ran off but was apprehended. He made no com-ment when questioned and at first denied the offence.

Mr Canfield said Rouse had 29 previous convictions for 54 offences, including driving while disqualified and without insurance.

Rouse’s barrister, Jo Shepherd, handed in letters of support from his employer and family members.

She said he was a hardworking man who had not troubled the courts for more than five years. He had committed offences in his twenties but since turned his life around.

It was a relatively short-lived piece of driving and not the worst that came before the courts.

“It was a moment of madness on the evening of September 9 last year,” Miss Shepherd said.

Rouse played a key role in looking after his family who spoke very highly of his care and commitment to them. He was deeply ashamed of his behaviour that night and it was out of character.

Recorder Kelbrick sentenced him to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with a three-month curfew order and 100 hours of unpaid work.

He was banned from driving for two years and until he takes an extended retest.