Yorkshire dad's dangerous driving was 'as bad as it gets' during 17-minute 100mph police chase, court told

But the 31-year-old married father-of-two will only serve 13 weeks behind bars despite his own barrister conceding that the incident was “as bad as it gets”.

The shocking driving began just before midnight on August 26 last year when officers in a police car spotted Hassan Sagheer doing over 100mph in a Toyota Auris on the A650 Keighley bypass.

Bradford Crown Court heard how black smoke came from the Toyota as it accelerated away from the police car at the start of pursuit which lasted 17 minutes and involved several police vehicles and the force helicopter.

Prosecutor Camille Morland outlined a catalogue of incidents were Sagheer ignored speed limits, drove through numerous red lights and even went the wrong way round a roundabout.

Sagheer also turned off the car’s lights in a bid to get away and at one point he was seen with his mobile phone out of the car apparently trying to film part of the pursuit.

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Miss Morland said near the start of the pursuit an unknown person had thrown a wheelie bin into the road in front of the police car and a passenger had managed to get out of the Toyota before the pursuit continued.

Sagheer drove at high speeds from Keighley through East Morton village and Hawksworth before heading towards Guiseley and Rawdon.

Miss Morland said the Toyota was doing in excess of 100mph near Horsforth and reached 106mph near Pudsey police station.

At the Toyota sped back towards Bradford it had to stop abruptly for a learner driver and then continued driving at speed through Bradford towards Bingley and then back into Keighley.

As several police cars tried to box in the Toyota Sagheer was swerving across the roads to stop them.

Eventually Sagheer stopped the car in Chapel Lane and tried to get away, but he was arrested and became abusive towards the officers.

He told them he “needed his tablets” and said he should have rammed the police car.

Miss Morland said Sagheer claimed to have “pure hate” towards West Yorkshire Police.

Sagheer, who had driven without insurance or a full licence, also failed to sample for breath analysis at the scene.

The defendant, of Spring Gardens Lane, Keighley, pleaded guilty last month to charges of dangerous driving, failing to provide a breath sample and driving while uninsured and without a licence.

On Monday (Jul 5), he was jailed for 26 weeks despite his own barrister Gerald Hendron conceding that the driving was “as bad as it gets”.

The court heard that in September 2018 Sagheer had been the victim of a vicious gang attack during which he had been stabbed multiple times, but the alleged attackers were subsequently acquitted at a trial.

Mr Hendron said his client was being treated for post traumatic stress disorder and depression and his family had spent thousands of pounds sending him to a rehabilitation centre in Pakistan.

“His wife is obviously desperately concerned about his mental health and how he would cope in prison,” said Mr Hendron.

He said it had been just about as bad a case of dangerous driving as you can get, but mercifully no one had been injured.

The Recorder of Bradford Judge Richard Mansell QC told Sagheer that it had been an appalling episode of very determined bad driving.

“Frankly it was a miracle that you did not collide with another vehicle or lose control of the vehicle and plough into a pedestrian and kill somebody,” said the judge.

But he said the 18-month jail term would have to be reduced to 12 months because of Sagheer’s guilty pleas and he was also prepared to halve that sentence to 26 weeks to take account of the defendant’s personal mitigation and the impact the prison sentence would have on his young family.

Sagheer was also banned from driving for three years and he must take an extended re-test before lawfully driving on the roads again.

The judge explained that Sagheer would serve half of the 26-week sentence then be on licence for the remaining 13 weeks and on post licence supervision for 39 weeks.