A DRINK driver who led police on a 15-mile chase at speeds of up to 130mph has been jailed.

Convenience store manager Kashif Khan, from Bolton, also drove at more than double the speed limit on residential streets and attempted to claim he had been a passenger in the offending car after the pursuit came to a close.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that police on patrol on Birchwood Way shortly before 4am on Thursday, September 2, spotted a red Ford Mondeo driving on Birchwood Way and pulled the vehicle over.

But after officers approached the driver’s side of the car and briefly spoke to the defendant, he ‘drove off at high speed’ onto the M62 and a pursuit ensued.

Khan reached a top speed of 130mph and undertook vehicles including a lorry and a car that was signalling to change lanes before continuing onto the M60 and M61.

The dad-of-five exited the motorway in the Bolton area and continued to drive at 70mph in 30mph zones and residential areas as well as running red lights.

He then came to a stop on Edgar Street and attempted to climb into the rear of the vehicle in a bid to con police into thinking he had not been behind the wheel.

Khan, of Braeside Grove, Bolton, was found to be around one-and-a-half times over the legal alcohol limit when driving and was arrested but continued to claim in custody that he had not been the driver.

The chase covered a distance of around 15 miles and lasted 12 minutes in total.

Described as a ‘valued and respected’ charity volunteer, the 37-year-old admitted dangerous driving and drink driving.

He was previously jailed for the same charges in 2013 and has nine previous convictions in total for offences including affray, possession of a bladed article in a public place and possession of an offensive weapon.

Jeremy Wainwright, defending, told the court that his client had consumed ‘a number of beers’ with a colleague after a ‘long working day’ before the incident occurred.

His friend was ‘very drunk’ and Khan – whose wife is battling cancer – took the ‘wrong decision’ to get behind the wheel of the vehicle, which belonged to the passenger.

The motorist then ‘panicked’ when pulled over by the police and sped away.

Mr Wainwright added: “It was a rather pathetic attempt to avoid responsibility for drink driving.

“He is somebody who since his release in 2014 has been a working family man and has not been in trouble for quite a period of time and pleaded guilty at the earliest possibly opportunity.

“This is a case where there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and the eight-year period in which he showed he could rehabilitate himself demonstrates that.

“An immediate custodial sentence would have a significant harmful impact on other people.

“For all these reasons, I would ask your honour to consider that it is suitable and appropriate for a suspended sentence to be passed.”

But Recorder David Knifton jailed Khan for a year.

Sentencing, the judge said: “This was an appalling piece of driving.

“You engaged in a high-speed chase with police at speeds of up to 130mph with a complete disregard for the safety of other road users.

“It was a prolonged, persistent and deliberate course of bad driving and you were driving at a time when you were some one-and-a-half times over the legal limit.

“I take into account the significant gap in offending, and I further take into account your wife’s condition.

“She relies on you as the family breadwinner and to assist in the care of herself and your five children.

“Knowing all of that, you chose to drive a vehicle in a highly dangerous manner when you had consumed alcohol.

“Ultimately, having considered the seriousness of this offence, I have concluded that nothing other than an immediate custodial sentence is justified.

“I would be failing in my public duty if I did not impose that sentence.”

Khan was also disqualified from driving for three-and-a-half years and must pass an extended retest.