A DANGEROUS and disqualified driver who led police on a 30-minute chase before being stopped by a stinger device has been locked up for more than a year.

Kevin Haley was said to have put people at risk of death or serious harm by his “appalling driving”.

Prosecutor Erin Kitson-Parker told Bradford Crown Court how Haley, 27, of Thackeray Road, Bradford, was seen by police driving on Queen’s Road in Bradford at 8.43pm on September 16 last year.

The car was stopped as it was found to be insured to a female. However, Haley drove off “at speed”.

Over the next half hour, he jumped red lights, causing other rivers to sharply brake to avoid a collision. He drove through a roundabout, through more red lights, and lost traction of his car on bends.

He was clocked travelling at 60mph in a 20mph residential area, dangerously overtook a vehicle on Harrogate Road, and narrowly missed another car.

Miss Kitson-Parker said: “The defendant continued, overtaking vehicles on the wrong side of the road … and travelled straight over a pedestrian crossing without stopping.

“[He] was eventually stopped by a stinger system by the police, which also took out the tyres of the police vehicle.”

Haley stopped in the middle of the road and made off on foot but was caught after a short chase at 9.13pm.

He later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, and having no insurance.

The court heard that Haley had previous similar convictions for dangerous driving, having no insurance, and failing to stop.

Mitigating, Laura McBride said Haley accepted full responsibility for his actions on the day, describing it as “an incident of appalling driving”.

She said he was in “a low place” at the time, was suffering from suicidal thoughts, and had taken the car belonging to his mother “with the intention of taking his own life”.

When stopped by police “he simply panicked” as he knew he should not be in the vehicle.

Jailing Haley for 14 months for dangerous driving plus four months for driving whilst disqualified to run concurrently, Mr Recorder Anthony Kelbrick said: “The driving carried out by you on the date in question was to say the least highly dangerous.

“You put a significant number of people at risk of death or serious harm by your massively excessive speeds in limited speed areas and the very, very dangerous manoeuvres that you undertook.

You are assessed by the probation service as being of a high risk of causing serious harm to the public.”

Recorder Kelbrick ordered Haley’s licence to be endorsed and banned him from driving for a total of three years and seven months.

He also ordered him to take an extended re-test before getting behind the wheel again.

There was no separate penalty for having no insurance.