A DRIVER who led police on a ten-mile chase said he was afraid to pull over in case he missed an appointment - 14 hours later.

Ayoola Alamutu was just an hour away from his meeting in Newcastle when he was asked to stop on the A1(M) in North Yorkshire.

Alamutu dodged a spiked Stinger device and burst through a police blockade before losing control of his car and rolling it over.

Earlier, he drove while he had his head beneath the height of the steering wheel, Teesside Crown Court was told.

When he was pulled from the wreckage of the Peugeot 206, he denied his driving had been bad, and told police: "Leave me alone."

In an interview later, he said he was eager not to miss his 4pm appointment, and was simply following his satellite navigation system.

When it was pointed out the meeting was 14 hours later, the 24-year-old said: "I wanted to get there early."

The pursuit started at 2am close to the junction with the A59 outside Harrogate, and ended on the A168 towards Thirsk and Teesside.

Prosecutor Kieran Rainey told the court that Alamutu, 24, made "real determined efforts" to evade three traffic cop cars.

During the drama on July 25, he drove on the wrong side of the road, harshly braked and sped up and swerved right across carriageways.

Alamutu only had a provisional licence, but claimed he had passed a test in Nigeria, and denied he was unable to drive properly.

Graham Silvester, mitigating, said: "The explanation for this unacceptable level of driving is, quite simply, he panicked."

Alamutu, of Camberwell Station, London, admitted dangerous driving, driving without a proper licence, having no insurance, and failing to stop.

He was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 100 hours of unpaid community work, and was banned from the roads for a year.

Judge Tony Briggs told him: "You tried to evade the police over ten miles, and that was disastrous. You turned the car over."

The court heard that his student visa was about to expire and he has been served with a deportation notice, although he has made an asylum application.