A 19-YEAR-old ex-soldier who led police on an 11-mile high speed pursuit has been given a custodial sentence.

Anthony Williams, of Atherton Road, Ellesmere Port, was sentenced to 10 months in a young offenders’ institute and banned from driving for three years after admitting dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving with excess alcohol and driving with no insurance at Chester Crown Court on Monday.

Police chased him along Stanney Lane, the A5117, the A41, the M53 and Mount Road, reaching speeds of 90mph.

Myles Wilson, prosecuting, said the pursuit started when police saw Williams driving a Rover 200 without lights in Ellesmere Port, at around 3am on May 10.

He added: “He was driving his brother’s car, which he was not insured to drive. He turned into Stanney Lane and sped off when he saw the police car.

“He went around five roundabouts the wrong way and through five sets of red traffic lights as well as causing a member of the public to swerve to avoid a collision.

“After entering the northbound carriageway of the M53, he reached speeds of 90 miles per hour before exiting and crashing the car on a dual carriageway near Clatterbridge.

“The car clipped the kerb and flipped over several times before coming to rest in a hedge.”

Williams, a scaffolder who was discharged honourably from the Army on medical grounds, admitted the offences at the scene and failed a roadside breath test. He later gave a blood sample which showed he had a blood alcohol level of 90, the legal limit being 80.

Defending, Adrian Evans said Williams had simply panicked when he saw the police car, adding: “He made the foolish decision to drive to a local takeaway to buy food after having a drink. There were very few pedestrians around at that time in the morning and he has shown remorse for his actions.

“He has not received a custodial sentence before and this is likely to have a profound effect on him.”

Judge David Hale said Williams had driven “like a maniac” and sentenced him to 10 months in a young offenders’ institute and banned him from driving for three years for dangerous driving. He was also given three months for driving with excess alcohol and three months for driving while disqualified, both to run concurrently. No separate penalty was imposed for driving with no insurance.