A DISQUALIFIED driver who tried to escape from police has been jailed.

Ben Chapman, 30, has been sentenced to 16 weeks behind bars after he was convicted of several driving offences committed in Braintree.

Chapman, of no fixed address, was spotted driving a Renault Clio in Braintree on May 13 despite being disqualified.

Officers traced the vehicle to Dukes Road, where the car made off from them, driving dangerously in rush-hour traffic along Coldnailhurst Avenue and Queens Road.

Fifteen minutes later, at 4.15pm, the officers located Chapman at a car park in Rayne. Having parked a police car behind him, a PCSO and an officer approached the car he was in and instructed him to exit the vehicle.

Chapman refused, and reversed the car backwards, narrowly missing the car and the officers, before driving off.

Essex Police issued a wanted appeal following the incident and he was eventually arrested by officers in Chickney Road, Stansted, on June 9.

Chapman was later charged with driving whilst disqualified, failing to stop when directed to by a police officer, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.

He was sentenced at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on June 11 where he was handed 16 weeks in jail.

The judge also extended his disqualification from driving period by a further 20 months and ordered him to pay a three-figure sum in victim surcharge.

Speaking after sentencing, Insp Colin Cox from Braintree and Uttlesford’s Community Policing Team said: "Chapman's manner of driving put other road users and pedestrians at risk of serious harm and, when confronted, he showed no concerns for the safety of our officers.

"When we received information regarding Chapman's whereabouts, a joint approach by local officers from Braintree and Uttlesford, as well as support from our team at Stansted Airport, meant we could respond and arrest Chapman easily."