Strong mitigation is nothing new in court cases, as offenders make their case for a lighter sentence.

However, one group of criminals seem to have produced the most varied selection of reasons to excuse their behaviour - dangerous drivers.

Since the start of our ‘Stop the Danger Drivers’ campaign, we’ve covered scores of court cases, including some alarming police chases through the city’s streets.

Despite their offending, the drivers often seem to have a reason - if not five - why they think they should be spared jail.

Here are 12 of the best:

Only a short distance

“The dangerous driving was over a relatively short distance and thankfully it did not involve a collision.”

Hard working, family man

“He worked six days a week to support his family and had committed no similar offences.”

Just showing off

“It was an error of judgement on his part, down to naively showing off to his mates,” she said.

Car borrowed

“He had borrowed his mother’s car when he was asked to collect the children at short notice.”

Damage wasn’t that bad

“Fortunately, the damage caused in the crash was minor to both cars.”

Delayed case

“The case had taken more than a year to come to court and had been hanging over the defendant’s head all that time.”

Wrong frame of mind

“He saw the blue lights and “didn’t think to stop” because he wasn’t in the right frame of mind.”

Romantic journey

“He had taken the BMW his mother had hired without her permission because he wanted to visit his girlfriend in Halifax.”

Sorry, I just panicked

“He told the police he panicked and sped off in “a moment of madness.”

“He had panicked because he was in possession of cannabis.”

He’s usually intelligent and sensible

“He panicked when the police tried to stop him. He is usually a sensible and intelligent young man, and is intelligent enough to appreciate this is serious.

Bollywood actor

He is self-employed, running a “media shop” and also working as an extra on Bollywood movies filmed in Bradford

Huge remorse

“He has expressed remorse and used his time in prison productively, gaining qualifications and wants to be a productive member of society when he is released.”