A motorist with a "dreadful" record for drink-driving and driving while disqualified led police on a chase through residential streets after attending a popular carnival. Amir Khan drove through red traffic lights, went the wrong way down one-way streets, and forced other drivers to take evasive action as he tried to get away from pursuing officers. When the 28-year-old was eventually stopped he was found to be three times over the drink-drive limit.
Sending the defendant to prison and banning him from driving for the next five and a half years a judge said Khan had risked not only his own life but the lives of his passengers, the police, and other road users. Cardiff Crown Court heard that on the night of August 29 this year police in Newport were told to look out for a black Vauxhall Corsa which had failed to stop earlier that evening. Jason Howells, prosecuting, said the vehicle was spotted at 9.50pm on Caerau Road in the Baneswell area of the city by an officer in an unmarked car who began to follow it. The court heard Khan initially drove "normally" but when the officer illuminated his car's blue lights and signalled for him to pull over he sped away. For the next 10 minutes the defendant raced at speeds touching 60mph through the residential streets of Baneswell, Stow Hill, and the Gaer, going through red traffic lights, driving the wrong way along one-way streets, and forcing other motorist to take evasive action to avoid collisions.
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