A danger driver was caught after losing his flip flops when fleeing from the police.

Solomon Mbye’s footwear flew off when he jumped over the bonnet of the patrol car that had boxed him in, Bradford Crown Court heard.

He had crashed into a gatepost while taking a bend at 70mph in his old Vauxhall Corsa.

Mbye, 52, of Bradford Road, Idle, Bradford, pleaded guilty to driving dangerously on Harrogate Road and Leeds Road at 8pm on September 7.

The police had ordered him to stop because one of the car headlights was out.

Mbye’s barrister, Ian Hudson, said his client was not a young man trying to outrun the police in a high-powered car.

“This was a 52-year-old man in an old banger,” Mr Hudson said.

The car was fully insured and had all the correct documentation.

Mbye was depressed at the time and his divorce papers had arrived that day.

Judge Colin Burn sentenced him to four months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

He was banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to attend the Responsible Road Users programme.

He must take an extended retest to drive again.

Speaking from the dock, Mbye told Judge Burn he was sincerely sorry for endangering the lives of members of the public and the police officers pursuing him.