Preston and Blackpool 144mph chase ended in "serious injuries" for provisional driver and passenger

Adam Mohammed, 20 - the son of a police inspector - had to be cut free, along with his passenger Anisah Alam, 19, when his attempts to evade officers came to a bloodied end.

The uninsured provisional driver had been given the keys to a Volkswagen Golf by a friend, and had travelled to Blackpool to "watch the sun rise" with Miss Alam, Preston Crown Court heard.

Officers began pursuing the car after spotting it on a car park in the resort.

The court heard Miss Alam, who suffered an open fracture to her upper arm, a fractured vertebrae, nerve damage, and cuts to her face, groin and lower limbs, had to have surgery at the Royal Preston Hospital.

The defendant, who was in a coma in hospital for six weeks with a ruptured spleen, fractured femur, and liver damage, has been given 18 months in a young offender's institution.

The owner of the Golf, who had trusted a friend with the keys while he was on holiday, is still having to pay £500 a month on finance for the £20,000 vehicle, which was written off.

Preston Crown Court was told Mohammed's father had disowned him.

Prosecuting, Amanda Johnson said the incident began in Blackpool at 5.40am when police saw the vehicle on a car park and decided to conduct a check on it.

As the officer went to approach him he set off along Bolton Street and onto Lytham Road, where he accelerated and overtook a bus.

Other patrols were alerted and at 6.05pm a PC on duty in Samlesbury on A59 spotted the car pulling onto the forecourt of Five Bar Gate Services - it had a flat tyre.

She added: "The defendant had clearly noted he was being followed as he did not stop, and drove straight back onto the A59 towards Preston.

"The defendant is described as speeding off both overtaking and undertaking various vehicles.

"Due to congestion in traffic the PC was stuck temporarily.

"Once he set off again he was driving at 120mph and the def was still increasing the gap between them so the officer abandoned the pursuit due to the speed and risk to other road users."

However, Adam still continued at high speeds, losing control on the slip road at junction 29 and ending up in a field, with both seriously injured.

Miss Johnson added: "Smoke was emanating from the vehicle. The defendant was still sitting in the driver's seat injured, bleeding from face and was dazed.

"The female passenger is described as screaming in pain.

"Subsequently she has given a full account of that night.

" She was repeatedly telling him stop and he ignored her. She says at one point she saw the speedometer was showing 144mph."

Mohammed, of Mill Race Lane, Laisterdyke, Bradford, admits causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Recorder David Potter banned him for two years and nine months and ordered an extended retest.

He said: "This was a prolonged, persistent and deliberate course of very bad driving.

" The day after your 19th birthday you were driving a high performance vehicle without the permission of the owner.

"Your passenger was repeatedly telling you to stop as you careered along the motorways and carriageways of this county.

She was very fortunate not to have been killed in this accident."

His defence lawyer said Mohammed had "made an absolutely dreadful decision".