An impatient motorist sent a taxi driver flying over the bonnet of his vehicle when he struck the man’s open car door as he drove past.

Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday the victim Raiz Khalid had stopped his taxi in Alexandra Road, Batley to collect a fare on November 2 and had opened his door and got out to look for them when Jabber Hussain Ali drove round the corner in a VW Golf.

Tim Capstick prosecuting said Ali beeped or hooted at the other driver as though indicating he could not get by, although an independent witness later said there was room.

However Ali then accelerated his vehicle towards Mr Khalid and struck the door which caught the taxi driver and knocked him over the bonnet and on to the ground.

Mr Capstick said thankfully his injuries were not serious but included a cut to his right arm and bruising over his body. The registration number of the vehicle was taken but Ali had not been traced when he was involved in a second incident in January.

On that occasion he was driving a hired Vauxhall Astra car when he was seen in the early hours of January 9 by police who indicated to him to stop but he failed to do so.

There was then a short chase of between three-quarters-of-a-mile to a mile before Ali did halt but collided with two stationary vehicles in Bar Street.

He and another male ran off and later that morning around 10am Ali contacted the police claiming the car had been stolen in a burglary at his home during the early hours.

Mr Capstick told the court Ali also claimed the vehicle had been taken to the insurance company but the burglary was a fabrication. Inquiries revealed no burglary had happened and Ali’s mobile phone was found in the Astra with calls made on it to his contacts after he claimed the car had been taken.

The £20,000 Astra was declared written off in the collision and at the time Ali was on licence from a four year sentence imposed for drug offences.

Stephen Couch representing Ali said he was being pressed for debts and was driving around in fear on the first occasion with someone pursuing him which was why he acted as he had. He had not intended to harm the taxi driver.

He was now making use of education courses in prison and intended to stay out of trouble on his release.

Ali, 33 of Whitaker Street, Batley admitted dangerous driving and battery in November, attempting to pervert the course of justice and fraud in January and two offences of failing to answer bail.

Jailing him for a total of 21 months and disqualifying him from driving for three years, Recorder Euan Duff said it was clear from the evidence on the first offences that while he had not driven deliberately at the door intending to strike the taxi driver his driving was “grossly dangerous, grossly reckless.”

He had then made matters worse by driving on a second occasion crashing his £20,000 hired vehicle and pretending it had been stolen. Both sets of offences were serious and could only be met with imprisonment.