A 21-year-old driver who led police on a five-minute chase through a housing estate before crashing into a van did so out of “bone-headed stupidity”, a court heard.

Prosecutor Jordan Millican told Bradford Crown Court how at around midnight on May 18 this year Hassan Mohammed drew the attention of police officers in a marked car as the rear licence plate was partly hanging off his Audi A3.

However, when they signalled with their blue lights for him to stop, Mohammed drove off, reaching speeds of more than 60mph in 30mph zones.

His route took him through the Fagley housing estate, where cars were parked on the narrow streets, and onto Fagley Road. Mohammed drove the wrong way round a roundabout towards Moorside Road.

The pursuit continued onto Lister Lane where Mohammed overtook a taxi and narrowly avoided a collision.

He jumped a red light on Bolton Road, drove in excess of 60mph on the wrong side of the carriageway, jumped a second red light at the junction of Queens Road and Manningham Lane, and then crashed head-on into a VW Transporter van.

He fled the scene on foot but was caught.

He told officers he drove off as he already had 20 points on his licence and did not want to be given any more.

Footage of the five-minute pursuit was captured on the patrol car’s dashcam and was played in court.

In an interview Mohammed made a full admission and admitted the standard of his driving had been dangerous.

Mr Millican said: “He said that he panicked as he had consumed alcohol earlier in that evening and thought he may have been over the prescribed limit.”

The court heard that Mohammed had previous convictions for obstructing a constable, driving without a licence, and using a vehicle whilst uninsured.

For that he was fined £300 and banned from driving for six months.

Mitigating, Abdul Shakoor said Mohammed, now 22, of Leamington Street, Bradford, was not over the limit when the police signalled for him to stop and that his actions were “idiotic” and indicative of “bone-headed stupidness”.

He said: “He had absolutely no reason not to stop for the police. This is a case of immaturity and what is described as fight or flight. He took the stupid decision to try and get away.

“Through sheer luck the damage here appears to be to the vehicle itself rather than any serious injury to the driver of the other vehicle.”

Sentencing Mohammed for what he described as “an appalling piece of driving”, Mr Recorder Paul Reid took note of his age and immaturity, and the pregnancy of his girlfriend.

He said: “There is a realistic prospect of you being rehabilitated. You are only 22. You are in that age bracket between 18 and 25 years where a male who is legally an adult is by no means an adult. You clearly are not.

“You have a long way to go before you mature into adulthood, but you will do that with the assistance of the probation service.”

He handed Mohammed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered him to undertake 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He banned him from driving for 12 months and said he must take an extended retest before getting behind the wheel again. His licence was also endorsed.