A DRIVER whose dangerous manoeuvres could have killed several people has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Christopher Jeffrey Thwaites deliberately drove at and injured two police officers, stood on his car roof shouting and throwing stones at the rider of a horse he had narrowly missed, and punched a motorist after tailgating him aggressively, said Peter Sabiston, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

Thwaites’ driving also put a grandmother and a young child who were pedestrians at risk during months of law-breaking on the roads of North Yorkshire, the court heard.

Two of the victims told police he smirked and gestured at them as he drove aggressively and dangerously near them.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, said: “It is remarkable that no-one lost their lives and, I suspect, given the circumstances, there may well have been more than one fatality.

“I don’t know what it is in your case that makes you behave like this.

“The public are entitled to know you are going to be off the road for a considerable period of time.”

He jailed Thwaites, 24, of Berrygate Lane, Sharow, near Ripon, for three-and-a-half years, banned him from driving for seven years and ordered him to take an extended driving test before he drives alone again.

Thwaites admitted four charges of dangerous driving between May and November last year and one of assault. He had already served a custodial sentence for similar offences.

For Thwaites, Philip Standfast said he was remorseful.