A DISQUALIFIED Black Country driver has been jailed for 16 months after he was involved in a hair-raising seven-mile high speed police chase which started in Oldbury.

Matthew Lewis, aged 25, went through traffic lights on red as he hit 75mph in a residential area with a 30mph limit, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The father-of-two from Bells Lane, Wordsley, near Stourbridge, also drove on the wrong side of the road and forced other drivers to take action to avoid a crash in his "determined" bid to shake off the pursuing police patrol car.

He also went the wrong way round a traffic island and overtook on blind bends when he did not know if another vehicle was approaching - Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said.

Judge James Burbidge QC told Lewis: "Mercifully you caused no accidents and there was no injury to other people."

He said the chase began when police officers spotted him driving at excessive speed in the Oldbury area and he ignored their signals to pull over.

The Judge said he had watched filmed footage of the chase which showed Lewis driving extremely fast in a built-up, residential area on roads - some of which were very narrow.

Lewis, he went on, could have caused "havoc" with his driving at a time when he was on licence after his release from a four-year jail term imposed for wounding.

Blondelle Thompson, defending, maintained Lewis had received a telephone call from his brother in which he complained he had been beaten up and he then drove off in his partner's VW car.

She told the court: "He knows he acted stupidly and he panicked. He went to the aid of his brother and he put that above everything else."

Lewis was remorseful for his actions, she said, and he now wanted to act as a role model for his two children and stay out of further trouble with the police.

He admitted driving dangerously, while disqualified and without insurance, and he was told by the Judge: "There was no need for you to drive even if your brother had called for assistance."

He further told Lewis, who had 26 offences on his record including aggravated vehicle taking, he would also be banned from driving for 26 months.