A DRUG DEALER turned carpet fitter who led police on a high-speed chase through Burnley before crashing into a garden wall has been jailed.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Shaukat Zaman, 32, was on his way to a customer’s house with a carpet tied to the roof of his Saab 9-3 Vector car when police pulled him over in Romford Street at 11.45am on March 8.

Having initially stopped, Zaman then sped off.

Prosecuting, Lisa Worsley said the Saab reached speeds of 70mph, jumped a number of red light, veered onto the wrong side of the road, ignored give way lines and forced a bus to brake heavily to avoid a certain collision during the four-minute pursuit.

The court head the chase only came to an end when Zaman lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a garden wall in Lockyer Avenue, Burnley, causing £500 of damage.

Defence barrister James Heyworth said his client had initially intended to stop for the police but, being subject to a suspended prison sentence and having not insured his car, ‘panicked during a moment of madness’ and attempted to evade them.

Zaman, of Thorne Street, Burnley, was given a 21-month prison sentence suspended for two years in September for his role in the burglary of a cannabis farm.

And it was fear of that suspended sentence being activated that led his client to commit the dangerous driving offence, Mr Heyworth said.

“The defendant very much wishes me to make submissions as far as why it would be unjust for your honour to activate the suspended sentence order,” he said. “Firstly he has made good progress with the order, completing 67 hours of the 100 hours' unpaid work. Secondly, the circumstances are that the defendant is the sole financial provider for his family. He has a wife who is due to give birth to their baby in May.

“He is a carpet fitter these days. He trained when he was 16. Having decided to turn his back on drugs-related offending

"He was on his way to a job. The customer had paid for the carpets your honour saw hanging off the car. In what can only be described as a moment of complete madness, having initially stopped for the police, he drives off.”

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Zaman, who has been jailed in the past for drug dealing, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance.

Judge Sara Dodd jailed Zaman for two years and banned him from driving for 27 months.