A BANNED driver who led police on a high-speed chase in a car stolen in Chipping Sodbury has been jailed.
Bryan Smith (pictured above) drove on pavements, towards oncoming traffic, went through several red lights and sped at 80mph in a 30mph limit, pursued by police cars and a helicopter.
He drove from South Bristol through the east of the city to Staple Hill before he was finally stopped after trying to ram his way between a parked and an oncoming car in Fishponds.
With Smith, aged 47, still trying to force his car through the gap, officers smashed the windows and windscreen of the VW Scirocco car, which had been stolen in Chipping Sodbury four days earlier, then fired a taser stun gun to incapacitate him.
Smith, of no fixed address, admitted charges of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, and failing to provide a specimen for analysis when he appeared before magistrates, two days after the incident.
In October Smith appeared at Bristol Crown Court, where he was jailed for 16 months and banned from driving for 10 years and eight months.
Avon & Somerset police said Roads Policing Unit officer PC Dan Hamblin spotted the Scirocco being driven on Whitchurch Lane on September 2.
The car had been reported stolen on August 29, in an incident in Smarts Green, Chipping Sodbury, that left its owner injured.
It was being driven on cloned registration plates.
PC Hamblin activated his blue lights and sirens but Smith refused to stop, instead driving off at speed.
During the next 27 minutes he drove through South Bristol and St Philip’s into the east of the city, often driving in front of oncoming cars and a bus, going onto pavements and driving through junctions on red lights.
In Feeder Road he swerved past two ‘stingers’ put in the road by police in an attempt to burst his tyres, narrowly avoiding cars and a bike as he drove onto a pavement to dodge them.
After driving through Easton and Whitehall he headed along Speedwell Road and Charlton Road, along Thicket Avenue, Briar Way and Hillfields Avenue in Hillfields, then onto Acacia Road and Staple Hill High Street before turning into Thicket Road and driving into two cars on Ledbury Road, where he was arrested.
A police spokesperson said officers used tasers “to prevent the pursuit continuing any further”.
PC Hamblin said: “Smith’s driving was amongst the most reckless and exceedingly dangerous I have ever seen and this sentence reflects that.
“Thanks to the skill of officers and the support of the police helicopter, he was stopped without any person coming to harm.
“Driving at the speed and the manner he did could have had serious consequences and this sentence protects the public from him.”
Police urged anyone who sees someone driving dangerously or suspects a driver is under the influence of drink or drugs to call 999 immediately.
To view video of the pursuit, visit the police website.