A motorist has been jailed after he was found to be over twice the drink driving limit when he was tested after a police chase.

Leeds Crown Court heard today that police officers on a routine patrol saw Benjamin Colin Wood leaving an off licence in Willow Lane, Fartown, with two other males around 3am on April 8.

They got into a Fiat Punto and drove away. The officers decided to check if the vehicle was covered by insurance and discovered none was registered for it.

They decided to stop it but the vehicle sped off through residential streets in Huddersfield, reaching up to 60mph in 30mph areas.

Bashir Ahmed, prosecuting, said Wood drove through a red light at a junction with Bradford Road, forcing a lorry crossing it to brake to avoid him.

He drove over mini roundabouts without stopping and the wrong side of keep left bollards before taking a corner on Wiggan Lane at speed and on the wrong side of the road nearby.

He drove along Oxley Road before turning into a cul-de-sac where all the occupants got out and Wood was traced and arrested with the help of a CCTV operator.

A breath test showed he had 72 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the limit being 35.

Mr Ahmed said Wood had bought the car only three days earlier although he was a disqualified driver as a result of an earlier conviction in 2014 for driving over the prescribed alcohol limit.

Wood was described by a probation officer as a “chronic alcoholic.”

Ayesha Smart, representing Wood, told the court drink was at the root of his problems, adding “he is a man who needs help and intervention.”

She urged the judge to suspend a jail term with an alcohol treatment requirement.

Wood, 26, of Roydfield Street, Fartown admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, having no insurance and driving over the alcohol limit.

He was jailed for a total of 18 months and banned from driving for three years nine months.

Judge James Spencer QC said he had chances in the past to address his drinking and it was not possible to suspend the sentence.