A MAN who led police on a car chase so they wouldn’t catch him driving without a licence and under the influence of cannabis has been jailed.

Norton Sparrow, aged 22, sparked the chase during rush hour at 4.15pm on January 25 after failing to stop for police who believed his Ford Focus was a stolen vehicle.

Presenting the case at Salisbury Crown Court on Thursday, Tessa Hingston said the chase started on Estcourt Road and proceeded along the ring road and up Devizes Road, ending at Cooks Close in Fugglestone Red.

During that time he entered roundabouts without stopping to check for oncoming traffic, drove through red lights and on the wrong side of the road, and exceeded the speed limit by up to 20mph.

When police caught him, Sparrow, of Gainsborough Close, Salisbury, had traces of cannabis in his blood above the legal limit.

He previously admitted dangerous driving, failure to stop when asked by police, driving without a licence or insurance and driving while under the influence of a controlled drug.

Defending, Thomas Acworth asked the judge to avoid a prison sentence because Sparrow was due to start an apprenticeship in plumbing on September 3.

"What is plain, and as he accepts, is that had he not made the unwise decision to drive off when seeing the police officers, he would be in a markedly less serious position," Mr Acworth added, but said Sparrow had "panicked".

Sentencing, Judge Andrew Barnett said: "What you did back in January as not just foolhardy, it was appallingly dangerous. The fact of the matter is that there really was no excuse."

He sentenced Sparrow to eight months in prison and banned him from holding a licence for two years after his release.