A 34-year-old Otley man has been jailed after a judge watched footage from two police patrol cars of a motorway crash involving a stolen van and caravan.

The officers had been trying to stop Vincent Kerr as he drove a stolen van which was towing the £17,000 caravan along the M62 in November last year.

But Kerr, who had only the month before been banned from driving for five years, tried to out-run the police vehicles during the lunch-time pursuit and reached speeds of up to 80mph as he drove along the M621 towards Leeds.

Judge Robert Bartfield, sitting at Bradford Crown Court, watched the footage taken from the pursuing police cars which showed the caravan fish-tailing as Kerr, of Fairfax Flats, Fairfax Street, Otley, lost control of both vehicles and smashed into the central barriers.

The vehicles then jack-knifed and careered back across the carriageway before ending up on a verge.

Kerr jumped out of the driver’s side of the van and tried to flee but prosecutor Clare Larton said he was arrested after a short chase.

She told Judge Bartfield that the the caravan had been stolen from a haulage yard in Halifax.

The court heard that at the time of the offences Kerr was a binge drinker and he had agreed to act as a delivery man for the stolen vehicles in order to earn some money.

Judge Bartfield said it was a miracle that no-one had been injured or killed in the incident.

“When you were seen on the motorway your decision yet again was to put your own interests in front of others,” the judge told Kerr. “And so it was that you ran the terrible risk with their lives that we have seen on that video.”

Kerr admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and handling stolen goods.

He was jailed for 27 months and banned from driving for 30 months.

He must also taken an extended re-test before driving again.

The court heard that since the offences Kerr, who has a pregnant girlfriend, had been doing well on a separate community sentence, but Judge Bartfield said the November offences were just too serious for a non-custodial option.