A BANNED driver who forced a police officer to steer sharply out of the way when he drove straight at his patrol car has been jailed for six months.

Hassan Khan, 21, was spotted jumping into the driver’s seat of a Seat Leon parked on Scotchman Road in Bradford at 7.10pm on July 20 last year.

He was ordered to stop but drove straight at the patrol car that had to take evasive action to avoid a high-speed crash, Bradford Crown Court heard on Friday.

Khan, of Allerton Grange Close, Allerton, Bradford, then sped off, doing up to 50mph over traffic calming humps and narrowly avoiding a collision on Toller Lane, prosecutor Laura McBride said.

He and his passenger then abandoned the car and fled on foot.

Khan pleaded guilty on the day he was to stand trial to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

He had three previous convictions for ten offences, most of them driving matters, Miss McBride told the court.

He was a banned driver and had previously been sent to a young offender institution for 12 months for dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.

Khan also had convictions for assault and battery, careless driving and failing to report an accident.

His barrister, Camille Morland, said he panicked. He was immature and had difficulty sorting his life out.

He was a hardworking married man who held down two jobs, one in a takeaway and the other he had to travel to Liverpool for.

Khan had been to custody before and it had not stopped him from committing similar offences again. Miss Morland said the probation service had offered a constructive way forward to deal with him in the community.

Judge Neil Davey QC said that seven of Khan’s ten previous offences were for driving matters.

Now he had been caught again driving dangerously while disqualified and uninsured.

There was a “blue light chase” when he did everything possible to get away from the police.

“People must understand that when the police switch on their blue lights and sirens that means stop and if they choose to ignore that, they must face the consequences,” Judge Davey said.

Khan was banned from driving for two years and three months.