A DANGER driver who injured a ‘blameless’ woman when he crashed into her car during a police pursuit in Bradford has been jailed for 14 months.

Matthew Vose told the police he thought he was being chased by people with a machete when he sped off in a Volkswagen Golf on December 27 last year, narrowly missing pedestrians and colliding heavily with an Audi and a Toyota.

Deputy Circuit Judge Timothy Clayson said Vose’s previous convictions for driving offences demonstrated a complete disregard for the rules that sought to regulate people’s driving.

Vose, 28, of Drovers Way, Bradford, pleaded guilty to driving dangerously on Barkerend Road, Bradford, while over the limit for cannabis. He was uninsured and disqualified from driving.

The pursuit took place in the afternoon when there was a high level of traffic and pedestrians around, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

One of the motorists involved in the crash was trapped inside her vehicle. She was left with lifelong tinnitus and had suffered a strained shoulder and collarbone, post-traumatic stress disorder and flashbacks.

Vose failed a roadside breath test and admitted to being a disqualified driver who wasn’t insured to drive the car.

The court heard he had previous convictions for driving while disqualified and without insurance. He was banned from driving for two years on May 13 this year.

Vose’s barrister, Andrew Pickin, said his client was remorseful for his actions but he conceded that the driving had been ‘atrocious.’ Mr Pickin said that Vose and his partner could lose their home if he was sent to prison immediately because he was the sole breadwinner in the family.

But Judge Clayson said he had in mind the impact of Vose’s driving on a completely blameless woman whose life had been affected by the defendant’s desire to get himself out of trouble.

He concluded that the offence was so serious that the prison sentence could not be suspended but he reduced it to take account of Vose’s guilty pleas and his personal mitigation.

Vose was banned from driving for three years with an extension of seven months to take account of the period he will spend in custody.

He must take an extended re-test before he can obtain a driving licence.