A TEENAGER who led police on a high-speed chase through the Bromsgrove district has been locked up for 16 months and banned from driving for two years.

Reece Pether was spotted in Vine Lane, Clent, on July 20 last year. The officers realised he had no licence to drive the Rover Cabriolet which he had bought three days previously.

When he drove off, they activated the blue lights on their van and followed the Rover through narrow lanes. He narrowly missed a cyclist and caused other vehicles to take avoiding action as his speed exceeded 60mph.

Pether ignored red lights at a junction in Hagley and turned into a housing estate where he was halted by a metal barrier put up by workmen. When he stopped, he reversed into the police van which had pulled up behind him.

Pether, aged 19, of Alexander Hill, Brierley Hill, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and to driving whilst disqualified at Worcester Crown Court. He was sent to a Young Offenders Institution for 16 months and disqualified from driving for two years. He must now take an extended test before he can drive again.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright said Pether had given a lying account to police of his actions. He had been smoking cannabis and there were four passengers in the car and their lives had been endangered.

Pether, whose previous convictions included aggravated vehicle taking, was said by his counsel, Alisha Harris, to have a troubled background and home life. After one row with his father he had been forced to sleep in the back garden. He had been been put on controlled medication in an effort to turn his life around, but the judge said Pether had been offered help but had missed appointments with the community mental health team.