Speeding motorist claimed he was being held at knifepoint

Duane Christie, from Wolverhampton, claimed he was forced to drive that fast by a passenger who was allegedly holding a knife to his neck.

Officers in an unmarked car spotted his BMW travelling at slightly above the speed limit in Great Bridge Road, Wednesbury, at about 2.25am on February 28. When the car went through red traffic lights, they picked up the trail.

Christie turned into a cul-de-sac and when the police car followed, he reversed violently towards it before performing a hand-brake turn and speeding away.

Realising that the driver was now aware he was being followed by police, the officers activated their blue lights and sirens and set off in pursuit, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Christie, 29, increased his speed to 70mph in 30mph zones, drove the wrong way around an island and shot through a 'Give Way' junction without braking to check for oncoming traffic, said Miss Siobhan Collins, prosecuting.

After five miles he stopped the car, leading the police to believe he was going to try and ram them, but instead his passenger got out and ran off while Christie jumped over a fence into a back garden. He was later found by a back-up dog team in a neighbouring garden.

In police interviews, he claimed he had been offered £20 to drive his passenger and did not know his identity. He also alleged the passenger was holding a knife to his throat but CCTV footage did not support the claim, the court heard.

Mr Zaheer Afzal, defending, said Christie had some positive attributes, being in full-time employment as an agency worker in factories and warehouses.

He had settled down in recent years and was due to become a father for the first time in the spring. It was also his first conviction for a driving matter.

Christie, of St Chad's Road, Fallings Park, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. He was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months, along with 100 hours' unpaid work. The court also imposed a three-month curfew requiring him to be at home between 8pm - 7am, and disqualified him from driving for two years.

Recorder William Edis, QC, said it was more by luck than judgment that Christie had not killed anyone through his driving. He told him: "It's time to grow up."