A MOTORIST branded “a complete menace on the road” by a judge has been jailed after he led police on a high-speed chase through narrow streets.

Disqualified driver Paul Bedford tried to outrun the law after taking cocaine only to get his Peugeot 206 stuck between a wall and another vehicle.

He had also nearly run over a pedestrian during the pursuit.

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Officers then had to use PAVA spray on him as he refused to get out of his car when they went to arrest him.

Bedford, 48, from Brynmawr, has racked up 13 convictions between 1989 and 2022 for driving while disqualified.

Prosecutor Tom Roberts said he was spotted with cloned plates on the A467 heading towards Nantyglo at around 4pm on December 4 last year.

The defendant accelerated away from the police as he entered residential streets and reached speeds of between 50mph and 60mph in a 30mph zone.

“At one point he narrowly missed a pedestrian who was getting out of a vehicle, he also went through a no entry sign and went the wrong way down a narrow one-way street,” Mr Roberts added.

“Towards the end of the pursuit he mounted a pavement to try and squeeze past parked cars and a house in an attempt to escape the police.

“But he wasn’t able to get through and got stuck.”

He refused to give a sample at the police station but a swab showed the defendant had taken cocaine.

Bedford, of Gladstone Street, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, failing to provide a specimen, failing to stop and driving without insurance.

He has 39 previous convictions for 90 offences.

Tabitha Walker, representing Bedford, told Cardiff Crown Court: “The defendant is deeply remorseful and understands he will receive a custodial sentence today.

“His driving was appalling.

“He had taken cocaine that day.”

She added that her client suffers with anxiety.

Judge Paul Hobson told Bedford: “You are a complete menace on the road and act as if the rules simply don’t apply to you.

“I hope you are sorry for the way you behaved.

“I realise no one was injured but that was more by luck than judgement.”

The defendant was jailed for 12 months and banned from driving for four years following his release from prison.