Moment driver caught after 27-minute police chase

A driver has been caught on camera mounting pavements, driving on the wrong side of the road and hitting speeds of 80mph in a 30mph zone in a stolen car.

Bryan Smith, 47, led police on a 27-minute chase across Bristol on 2 September before finally becoming jammed between two cars in Fishponds.

A police helicopter was deployed to keep track of Smith, and traffic officers eventually had to smash through the car's windscreen and taser him to arrest him.

He was jailed for 16 months at Bristol Crown Court on 9 October having previously admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Bryan Smith admitted dangerous driving at Bristol Crown Court

In the newly-released footage, Smith can be seen repeatedly driving on the pavement in an effort to avoid a hard stop and police stingers, and forcing his car between other vehicles to escape.

Smith was first spotted by PC Dan Hamblin, of Avon and Somerset Police's roads policing unit, on Whitchurch Lane in a car reported stolen a few days earlier and using cloned registration plates.

He drove off at speed when the officer activated the lights and sirens on his car.

PC Hamblin said Smith's driving was among "the most reckless and exceedingly dangerous" he had ever seen.

"Thanks to the skill of officers and the support of the police helicopter, he was stopped without any person coming to harm," he added.