A FATHER-OF-SIX led police on a 30-minute, low-speed chase after his tyres had been burst by a stinger.

Burnley Crown Court heard sparks could be seen coming off the wheels of Geoffrey Blundell’s Ford Transit van as he struggled to maintain control of it.

The court was told Blundell, 44, of Violet Street, Burnley, never reached speeds of more than 20mph in his flawed bid for freedom through Lancashire and into West Yorkshire.

He was eventually stopped after going up a cul-de-sac in Todmorden.

Emma Keogh, prosecuting, said police had originally tried to stop Blundell in Finsley Gate, Burnley, at around 12.30am on August 17 after noticing the Transit had no rear number plate and a defective rear light.

Ms Keogh said because Blundell was refusing to stop and in view of the poor condition of the vehicle, police laid a stinger device in Crown Point Road in the town in a bid to get the driver to stop.

Despite the tyres bursting the court heard Blundell still refused to stop.

Ms Keogh said: “There was a pursuit by the police for about 30 minutes. The defendant went through Cliviger, into Todmorden, at times crossing on to the wrong side of the carriageway.

“There were at least two occasions when vehicles travelling in the opposite direction had to swerve to avoid a collision.”

Describing his driving she said: “The defendant slows down and then he speeds up. Clearly he is not in control of the vehicle at any time.

“Eventually he drives into a cul-de-sac where he stops the vehicle and is arrested. He gets out of the vehicle puts his hands in the air and walks towards the police.”

Following Blundell’s arrest it transpired the van was being driven with false number plates and had no MOT.

Blundell was also found to only have a provisional driving license which had expired.

Rachel Woods, defending, said her client had been driving to buy some cigarettes and panicked when police attempted to pull him over.

Ms Woods said: “When the request was made for him to pull over he made the decision to carry on driving because he had no licence and shouldn’t have been driving on the road.

“He was suffering from depression which affected his decision making. Despite no chance of evading arrest he failed to stop.

“He was sober. He was alone in the vehicle. There was no damage to any other vehicle or property. He does express his remorse.”

Blundell pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving without a valid license.

He was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to take an extended driving test.

Judge Beverley Lunt said: “This pursuit goes on for far too long. There are far too many dangers for me to not send you to prison.”

A police spokesman said: “It is extremely reckless to carry on driving a vehicle when its tyres have been punctured by a stinger device and it is lucky that on this occasion no-one was seriously hurt.”