A CRADLEY Heath drink driver who was banned from the roads has been locked up for two and a half years after he ploughed head-on into a police patrol car.

Father-of-three Luciano Urbano, aged 29, left a police officer fearing he was going to die as he drove straight at his vehicle at speed after mistakenly turning into a cul-de-sac in Rowley Regis.

PC Jason Brown felt Urbano was about to abandon his Toyota Yaris and flee on foot but he then made a desperate bid to get away from the scene.

The Toyota crashed into the patrol car throwing the officer forward and he was injured when his head struck the metal bracket holding the sun visor.

But he was then able to get out of the police car and arrest Urbano before being told by a colleague he had a sustained a nasty head wound in the collision.

Urbano, of Birch Drive, had denied causing serious injury by driving dangerously but he was convicted by a jury after they retired to consider the evidence in the case.

The panel had not been told Urbano had earlier pleaded guilty to drink driving while disqualified before the start of his trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Judge James Burbidge QC further banned him from driving for four years and told him there was no doubting the fact that he had driven like a "lunatic".

The jury had been told PC Brown had slowed to a crawl and he undid his seat belt so he could get out quickly when seconds later he saw the Toyota "coming straight at me."

He went on,"I tried to pull to the left but he hit the police car full on. He must have been travelling at about 30mph while I was doing about 10mph."

The police pursuit began when the officers saw Urbano driving on the wrong side of the road and he later admitted he had not pulled over because he knew he was over the drink-drive limit.

In evidence to the jury Urbano who had 30 previous convictions on his criminal record maintained he had little recollection of the impact in Grange Road, Rowley Regis.

Urbano who claimed he borrowed the Toyota from a friend had earlier in the chase gone the wrong side round a bollard and also driven through a red light.