Man posed as buyer and drove off with car

Michael Bowers was given a suspended sentence at Swindon Crown Court

A man posing as a buyer drove off in a car he was viewing and then reached speeds of 90mph, before going the wrong way around two roundabouts, police say.

Michael Bowers, of Botley Road in Southampton, received a suspended prison sentence after taking the red Citroen from an address in Bristol on 11 May.

The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated taking without consent, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and no insurance.

PC Paul Davis, from Wiltshire Police, said Bowers "put countless lives at risk, including his own, through his incredibly dangerous and reckless driving".

On the day of the incident, Bowers made his way to the M4 heading east towards Wiltshire, followed by Avon and Somerset and Wiltshire police officers.

He pushed his way through traffic, tailgating and undertaking several cars, police said.

At the Rat Trap roundabout in Swindon, police said Bowers swerved onto the slip road, overtaking traffic and forcing oncoming vehicles to move out of his way.

He later drove through multiple sets of red traffic lights and stopped at a truck stop, narrowly missing a parked lorry, where he got out of the moving vehicle, police said.

Bowers was found in a ditch nearby and arrested.

PC Davis said it was "a miracle" the incident did not lead to a crash.

"After stealing the vehicle in the first place, he then forced numerous vehicles to take evasive action to avoid a collision with him, driving the wrong way around roundabouts to try and lose the officers in pursuit.

"Because of the speeds he was driving at, had anything unexpected happened on the road, then he would not have had time to stop," he added.

In a hearing on Tuesday at Swindon Crown Court, Bowers was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months and fined £187.