A FATHER-OF-TWO who drove in a “monstrous” manner and reached speeds of around 90mph in a 30mph zone while racing another car has been jailed for a year.

The white Audi S3 being driven by Usman Ali, 32, only came to a halt when it crashed head-on into another car in Great Horton Road and flew into a wall.

He had pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving ahead of a trial scheduled to take place last month.

Prosecutor Laura McBride told Bradford Crown Court that six witnesses had seen Ali “racing” a silver car on a half-mile stretch of the road at around noon on March 30, 2015.

She described his car as “weaving in and out of traffic”, driving on the wrong side of the road, and accelerating away from a set of traffic lights at around 80mph.

A police officer who became involved in trying to stop the cars said of Ali’s actions: “In 18 years I had never seen a vehicle driven so fast in a built-up area.”

Another witness who said they had been travelling on the road at 30mph at the time of the chase said Ali’s driving had “made him feel as if he was stood still”.

As Ali approached the Texaco garage in Great Horton Road, he drove straight into a blue Ford Focus, writing the vehicle off and injuring its two occupants, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s.

Ali’s car hit the stone wall, and police reported debris being thrown “70m away from the crash site”.

He was taken to hospital after being cut out of the car, but did not sustain any significant injuries.

The road was closed for around two-and-a-half hours as the crash site was cleared.

Miss McBride said Ali had been on licence from prison at the time of the offence, having been jailed for five-and-a-half years for burglary in 2012, and had committed further driving offences since March 2015.

Nigel Jamieson, for Ali, of Thrybergh Street, Bradford Moor, said his client claimed he had not known the driver of the other car and was not taking part in a planned race.

He said since the offence, Ali’s life had “changed in many ways”, and said that the loss of his liberty would have a damaging effect on his family, given his wife was due to give birth to their third child in July.

Judge David Hatton QC ignored Mr Jamieson’s request to suspend any prison sentence, and told Ali: “You drove in a monstrous manner putting the lives and health of other people in significant danger.

“People in this city must be heartily fed up of seeing and hearing motor cars being driven by imbeciles such as yourself without any regard for reasonable road users and pedestrians. I certainly am.”

Judge Hatton said that the age of the offence might have been a significant mitigating factor in the case had Ali not offended since, but he pointed to two other driving convictions – driving while disqualified and driving while under the influence of drugs – in the last 12 months.

“Driving of this grotesque nature cannot be overlooked,” he said.

“The message should go out that driving in that manner through the streets of this city will not be tolerated.”

Ali was banned from driving for two-and-a-half years and will be forced to take an extended re-test.

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