Blackburn driver got to 130mph in M6 chase (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blackburn driver got to 130mph in M6 chase

10:00pm Monday 1st October 2012 in News By Peter Magill, Chief reporter

A BLACKBURN motorist who led police on a 130mph drink-drive chase on the M6 has been jailed for 10 months.

Irfan Hanif, 24, was clocked by police doing 100mph near Knutsford Services in Cheshire in the early hours of March 10, Warrington Crown Court was told.

And even though traffic officers pursued at speeds reaching 130mph they failed to make up ground on Hanif’s Kia, the court was told.

Hanif, who had been drinking, was already serving a driving ban for an excess alcohol charge, when the pursuit began.

Three police cars attempted to ‘box in’ the Kia but Hanif undertook one patrol vehicle and left the motorway at junction 21, heading towards Warrington.

The court heard a police helicopter joined in the chase and the car was discovered crashed into a fence around two miles from the M6. The passengers were still inside but Hanif had fled. He was later tracked down by police dogs.

Hanif, of Primrose Drive, Lark Hill, admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving with excess alcohol.

Passing sentence Judge Hale said: “People get killed this way and I sometimes have to deal with the aftermath.

“Driving a car when you haven’t got proper control of it is a very serious thing.”

The court heard the defendant had six previous convictions for driving while disqualified.

Bob Sastry, defending, said Hanif had been plagued by alcohol and was influenced by the people around him.

He added: “He has tried to move away from that sort of influence. His wife is expecting a child in five months.

“Perhaps he’s ready to behave maturely now at a later stage than others. It’s clear he’s going to have to stay away from cars.”

Judge Hale added: “You have shown yourself constantly incapable of dealing with orders of disqualification. You have to understand that if you drive during disqualification you will get consistent prison sentences.”