A 22-YEAR-OLD salesman from Amersham who was chased by police for four miles before later failing a breath test has been sent to prison.

Sahle Ahmed jumped red lights, drove on the wrong side of the road and collided with a police car during the course of the pursuit through Bedford town centre.

His actions also forced an oncoming car to mount the pavement in a bid to avoid hitting his Ford Fiesta.

Ahmed, of Chesham Road, was jailed for six months and slapped with a two year driving ban after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.

Luton Crown Court heard on Friday police tried to stop Ahmed on September 23 after spotting him driving in a bus lane on Ampthill Road.

But he sped away from the scene and caused a four mile chase through the streets of Bedford. He stopped and tried to escape on foot before officers were eventually able to capture him.

A breath test showed he was one and a half times over the legal alcohol limit for driving, prosecutor Daniel Siong told the court.

Ahmed told police he had had a couple of drinks at home when he got a phone call from a friend inviting him out and he decided to go. But when he got to Bedford the alcohol kicked in and he panicked when he saw the police car behind him.

The court heard Ahmed, who had no previous convictions and a clean driving licence, holds two jobs and sends money to his mother and grandmother in Bangladesh, and feared they would disown him if he went to jail.

But Judge David Farrell QC told him: "You drove appallingly to escape police and evade the consequences of your drunken driving. It is only by luck that you did not cause someone serious injury or even death.

"Despite your previous good character only immediate custody is appropriate."