Motorist banned from roads for drug-driving jailed for driving away from court

Brazen Muhammed Hassan, 21, was already serving a ban prior to the sentencing but drove to the courthouse on September 9 anyway.

Magistrates handed the multiple offender an additional ban and sent him on his way, at which point he got back behind the wheel.

Hassan was caught on CCTV getting into his Volkswagen Golf, which was parked on double yellow lines and issued with a parking ticket.

He was then seen leaving Bradford Magistrates' Court and speeding down one way streets and narrowly avoiding a number of collisions.

Police officers begun chasing Hassan but had to abandon their pursuit because it became too dangerous to continue.

The unruly motorist, who is from Bradford, was arrested 11 days later and he appeared in the dock at Bradford Crown Court yesterday (Mon).

He was jailed for six months after admitting charges of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

Judge Jonathan Gibson said although no one was injured Hassan had clearly put people at risk by his manner of driving.

"Having been disqualified and then driving you simply flouted the court's order," he told Hassan.

The court heard Hassan was fined and given a driving ban for his first over-the-drug limit offence in February this year.

On September 9 the shop manager was due to be sentenced at the magistrates' court again for a second incident of drug-driving.

Prosecutor Philip Adams told a judge at Bradford Crown Court yesterday that despite the existing driving ban Hassan had driven to court.

For his second offence the defendant was handed a community order and banned again for three years.

Soon after he was caught on CCTV leaving the court and getting back into his car.

He was tailed by police officers in a marked car, which activated its blue lights and attempted to pull Hassan over.

The motorist refused to stop and sped through Bradford over the speed limit, ignoring no entry signs and going the wrong way down a one way street.

Giving evidence at court, the officers described how Hassan "bullied" his way on to a three-lane road causing other drivers to do emergency stops to avoid a collision.

Another driver had to brake hard to avoid a crash and the police officers abandoned the pursuit because it was too dangerous to follow Hassan's path through the heavy traffic.

Barrister Jessica Heggie, for Hassan, said the dangerous driving was over a relatively short distance and that it did not involve a collision.

She said Hassan's family were understandably devastated by the position he now found himself in.

The judge banned Hassan again for three years and three months and ordered him to take an extended re-test at the end of the disqualification period.

He said the jail term could have been more severe, but he concluded that six months was sufficient for a first prison sentence.