A MAN who attempted to evade the police with "the most extremely stupid piece of driving" while under the influence, has been jailed.
Niall Bright, 23, of Commercial Road, Abercarn, was pursued by police in Bargoed for around 15 minutes just after 1am on October 11.
Bright even continued for a mile and a half after all four of the tyres on his Ford KA were blown out by a police stinger device.
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He was told by Judge David Morgan the chase was "the most extremely stupid piece of driving."
"You had passengers in the vehicle, you endangered them," he added.
Bright was spotted by police driving along the A469 Station Road with three passengers in his car, and they signalled for him to pull over on Factory Road, which Bright ignored.
Dashcam footage from the pursuing officers was shown to Cardiff Crown Court, where the defendant lost control of his car, spinning out and ended up on the wrong side of the road, before continuing to try to make his escape.
The defendant was also seen "swerving on either side of the road, often driving on the wrong side of the road," said Nik Strobl, prosecuting.
"A stinger was deployed by police which punctured all four of the defendant's tyres. He continued for about a mile and a half."
Mr Strobl said when the defendant was brought to a stop by police on Pengam Road, "his pupils were huge and he was gurning. He was opening and clenching his jaw and moving from side to side."
"It is clear he was driving under the influence," he added, although due to the amount of time for the test results to come back, Bright was not charged with driving under the influence.
Bright has 10 previous convictions from 22 offences, of which "most of those are driving offences," added Mr Strobl.
He was disqualified from driving at the time of this latest offence, and was driving without insurance.
Stephen Thomas, defending, said Bright admitted that this was a "serious offence."
"In reality, there is very little that can be said in mitigation," he said. "There was a clear refusal to stop.
"He's relieved that nobody was hurt.
"He tells me he simply panicked when he saw the police and he should have stopped."
Mr Thomas added that the defendant said he would "stop acting so stupidly" and "will work on his drug-related issues."
Bright was jailed for 14 months for dangerous driving, serving four months concurrently for driving with no insurance.
Judge Morgan said he would serve no separate punishment for driving while disqualified.
He has been disqualified from driving for four years, and must pass an extended driving test after that time.
He was ordered to pay a statutory surcharge of £156.
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