A BRAVE police officer raced after a banned motorist at speeds of up to 140mph.

Magistrates heard that Daanyaal Choudhury was spotted by PC Simon Smith racing down the M6 in a BMW last Monday.

PC Smith, part of the county’s mobile support group, was alone in his police car but decided to chase after the BMW.

Traffic officers are typically only expected to give chase to motorists when there are two in a vehicle - one to drive and the other to direct the control room to the ongoing incident and location.

PC Smith activated his lights and siren but 26-year-old Choudhury failed to stop.

A check on the Police National Computer revealed the vehicle wasn’t insured and that Choudhury was currently subject to two driving bans.

When Choudhury finally gave up the chase he attempted to obstruct PC Smith by giving a false name and date of birth.

Sergeant Lee Hill, of the Mobile Support Group, said PC Smith’s actions were later praised by a control sergeant.

Sgt Hill said: “The praise was given by an evidence review sergeant who said that PC Smith was single crewed during a pursuit that reached speeds in excess of 130mph and he dealt with the incident with such professionalism and calmness that they felt compelled to write an email.”

At South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday Choudhury, of Chatsworth Road in Hackney, London, pleaded guilty to failing to stop when requested to do so by a police officer, wilfully obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty, speeding, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

He was jailed for 14 weeks, banned from driving for seven months and ordered to pay a £122 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

Magistrates sitting in Barrow said a custodial sentence was appropriate because Choudhury ‘had no regard for other road-users and drove while subject to two disqualifications which was not long after the bans

were imposed’

They added that he had ‘failed to stop for police and provided the police with a false name and date of birth’.