Driver smashes into police car after 80mph chase around Wolverhampton city centre

Parmajit Grewall, of Charles Wesley Court, Penn Fields, drove through red traffic lights and on the wrong side of the road as he attempted to escape capture from the police.

A stinger was used to puncture the tyres of the car that the 44 year old was driving – but even that failed to stop him.

He was eventually brought to a halt after smashing into a police car which had attempted to pull in front of him.

Grewall later claimed that the reason he had not stopped was because he was on his way to see his father in hospital who had a serious brain tumour.

But Wolverhampton Crown Court heard no evidence had been provided to confirm his father's illness.

It also emerged that Grewall was on licence when the pursuit took place at about 1.15am on December 16, 2016. He had been serving time for a burglary committed in May 2015.

Recorder Collingwood Thompson QC described Grewall's driving as appalling. Sentencing Grewall to 10 months behind bars, he said: "The facts are that this was a truly appalling piece of driving.

"The reason it was appalling is the persistence with which you tried to escape the police.

"You were in a car over which there is a question of whether it was stolen or not – I discount that," he said.

"The fact is that you were told to stop and you didn't. You drove off at speeds of up to 80mph in 30mph areas, going through red traffic lights, failing to give way at junctions, failing to stop and on occasions travelling on the wrong side of the road.

"Even after the front wheels of the vehicle you were driving were deflated you still tried to get away. It culminated in you ramming a police car," he said.

The court was shown CCTV footage of the high-speed pursuit which took place within the city centre, on Darlington Street and Birch Street, on the city's ring road and in parts of Whitmore Reans, including the roads surrounding West Park.

Mr Edward Soulsby, prosecuting, said Grewall failed a screening test at the roadside which indicated the presence of cocaine, but he later refused to give a blood sample for which he was subsequently charged.

Ms Naomi Nelson-Cofie, defending, said her client intended to hand himself in at a later time.

She said: "His intention was to go and see his father in hospital. That is what his explanation was for why he did not stop."

Having pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving and another of failing to provide a specimen, Grewall was jailed for 10 months and disqualified from driving for three years.