A teenage Audi driver who led police on a high-speed chase through Amersham while drunk crashed with three other passengers in the car.

At Amersham Law Courts today (Friday), Tom Barrett, of Hawthorn Crescent in Hazlemere, was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years, and given a three-year driving ban.

Barrett, aged 19, had pleaded guilty to charges of drink driving and dangerous driving.

The court heard how on September 5 last year, when he was 18, Barrett was driving a blue Audi A3 while drunk, with three passengers in the car with him.

Showing the court dashcam footage of the incident, prosecutor Jonathan Stone explained how police noticed the defendant’s vehicle at about 1.25am and attempted to stop it.

The Audi instead sped off through the streets of Amersham, forcing the police vehicle to pursue at high speed.

After some time, Barrett crashed the vehicle and sustained a six-inch gash to his head. The police officers who had been chasing performed first aid on the suspect before an ambulance arrived.

None of the three passengers in Barrett’s car were seriously harmed.

Mr Stone added that Barrett “told officers he panicked” after the incident.

Sentencing, judge Nicholas Rhodes QC said: “You can see for yourself the nature of your driving, the risk you posed to the passengers in your car and yourself, and the risk to those other people that may have been on the street.

“You were drunk while driving with three people in the car, you were driving at a high speed and you were in no condition to drive at any kind of speed.”

As well as the suspended sentence and driving ban, Barrett will also have to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £275 costs.