A man fuelled by cocaine led police officers on a 20-minute car chase through Cambridge.

Officers from the three counties Road Policing Unit were driving along Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, in the early hours of 12 October when they saw a silver BMW speed by in the opposite direction.

The driver, Lewis Graves, 23, saw the officers turn their car to follow him and began his attempts to escape.

Graves swerved into a cycle path as he flew towards the junction with Victoria Road, reaching speeds of more than 80mph in the 30mph zone.

Speeding through a series of red traffic lights, he passed through Histon Road towards King’s Hedges Road before veering onto Iceni Way.

Pursuing officers noticed the back wheels on the BMW losing traction as Graves struggled to navigate the corners at such dangerous speeds.

Graves then cut through a series of corners, mounting the kerb to maintain a straight line. He continued at twice the speed limit, causing other drivers to slam on their brakes to avoid his frenetic driving.

As his attempts to escape became more desperate, Graves began to slide out of control as he sped through narrow roads at twice the speed limit.

Finally, he cut through a public footpath in a last-ditch effort to evade capture. Officers saw their opportunity to bring the pursuit to an end and made tactical contact with the vehicle.

The BMW span out of control before pursuing officers managed to pin the car against a tree and arrest Graves – along with two passengers in the vehicle.

Graves, of Paget Road, Trumpington, Cambridge, admitted charges of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, failing to stop, drug-driving and driving without insurance.

On Friday (28 August), he was sentenced to one year in prison at Cambridge Crown Court. He was also banned from driving for 42 months.

PC Mark Lappin said: “Graves was clearly thinking of little more than his own self-interest as he put several lives at risk with his dangerous driving.

“I am surprised and thankful no one was seriously injured during this pursuit.

“I hope this sentence will serve as a wake-up-call to Graves – and he won’t put lives at risk again.”