A MAN who drove at over 110mph on the hard shoulder of the M65, before crashing into a barrier on a roundabout has been jailed.

Burnley Crown Court heard how police saw Jamie Philip Grimshaw’s Volkswagen Golf, which had been flagged up as being involved in an earlier incident, in Gannow Top, Burnley, shortly before noon on May14.

Prosecuting, Stephen Parker said Grimshaw sped off onto the westbound sliproad of the motorway heading towards Accrington.

PC Lee Ingham illuminated the lights on his vehicle and turned on his sirens and followed the Golf onto the M65.

The court heard how as Grimshaw was in slow-moving heavy traffic as he approached junction nine he crossed from the outside lane onto the hard shoulder.

Mr Parker said on the hard shoulder the Golf reached speeds of 110mph.

PC Ingham called off the pursuit because of public safety fears but continued to follow the Golf from a distance on the hard shoulder to junction eight, the turn-off for Huncoat and Hapton.

Mr Parker said: “As he came down the slip road he could seethe vehicle crashed into the barrier on the far side of the roundabout.

"PC Ingham said it was clear to him the vehicle had approached the roundabout at too much speed. When he got to the vehicle the airbags had deployed. The police officer was directed to a location to where the defendant had run. He found the defendant hiding in some wasteland 400 yards away from where he had crashed.”

Mr Parker said skid marks on the road showed where Grimshaw had attempted to brake but went across three lanes of traffic and into the barrier.

In police interview Grimshaw accepted he was driving too fast but claimed he was doing 50mph coming off the slip road. When shown photographs of the skid marks he said they were a result of having to swerve to avoid a lorry.

Grimshaw, 29, of Burnley Road, Padiham, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

Defending, Laura Heywood said her client is a bicycle trader, who was now in a stable relationship.

She said: “He states he panicked at seeing the police and drove off at speed. People sometimes do silly things and this is a stupid and reckless thing on behalf of the defendant.”

Jailing Grimshaw for six months and giving him an 18-month roads bans, Judge Sara Dodd people said the message must get out that driving in this manner will be met with serious punishment.

She added: “The fact that you didn’t kill anybody or you weren’t killed yourself is only by good fortune. This is a truly shocking piece of driving.”