A BANNED driver who led police in a chase and raced through a residential area at three times the speed limit has been jailed.

Nathan John Watson, 24, had cannabis and cocaine in his body and was uninsured, said James Gelsthorpe, prosecuting.

When he saw police at 11.30pm on April 22 in Tang Hall, he tried to evade them before speeding away at up to 75mph in a 40mph zone.

He raced through Osbaldwick’s 20mph zone at 60mph before heading back into town and overtaking a car at 70mph in Melrosegate.

Police finally brought the eight-minute chase to an end by ramming him off the road.

For Watson, Mark Partridge said: "He was of the view drugs didn’t influence his driving.

"He also maintains he wasn’t aware he was disqualified from driving.”

He had run from police because he had thought, wrongly, he was over the drink drive limit.

“He is deeply sorry,” he said.

Judge Sean Morris told Watson about his lack of knowledge of the six-month driving ban passed in December 2018: “You were informed by post about it.

“The police considered your driving was so dangerous they had to force you off the road. It was life-threatening behaviour.

"You are so fortunate you are not in this courtroom in a death by dangerous driving case.”

He jailed Watson for 12 months, banned him from driving for two and a half years and ordered him to take an extended driving test before ever driving alone again.

Watson, of New Lane, Huntington, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failure to stop, driving whilst disqualified, three charges of drug driving and one of uninsured driving.

A court banned him in his absence in December 2018 under the totting-up procedure for failing to give police details of the driver using his car when it had been involved in a potentially law-breaking situation.

Mr Partridge said Watson had paid for insurance, but the insurers had voided it when they got electronic notification he was a banned driver.