A FATHER who led police on a high-speed chase through Colchester narrowly avoiding a pedestrian who was crossing the road has been jailed for 28 weeks.

After eventually crashing into a metal railing, Kevin Wall tried to run and hide in a bush before being located by a police dog and its handler.

Following his arrest, the 28-year-old was charged with driving whilst disqualified, driving without insurance, failure to provide a specimen, driving a vehicle without reasonable consideration to others and failing to stop.

He admitted the charges as well as breaching a suspended sentence order at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Lesla Small, prosecuting, told the court Wall was spotted by an officer attempting to pull an illegal right turn in Cymbeline Way, Colchester, at around 11.55pm on December 12.

She said: “The officer followed him and put on his blue lights telling him to stop.

“Wall did not stop and accelerated along grassy area and a cycle path on to Colne Bank Avenue.

“He accelerated towards the town centre and he was travelling at about 60 miles an hour in a 30 miles an hour zone.

“He was straddling both lanes of the carriageway and continued to accelerate at speed.

“There was a pedestrian in the road, but they reacted quickly and jumped out of the way.

“The officer says that had the pedestrian not taken this action the car would have struck him.”

Wall continued onto Cowdray Avenue where he came to a halt after crashing into a set of railings.

Ms Small told the court after crashing the vehicle, Wall fled the scene and a police dog unit was called in to locate him.

She said: “He was hiding in some bushes when the dog found him.

“He was taken to Colchester Police Station and asked to do a breath test to which he refused.”

Lucy Osborn, mitigating, said Wall, of Water Lane, Chesterton, had in a panic as his new born son was in Broomfield Hospital with meningitis.

She said: “He was staying at a travellers site in Braintree. He had been at the hospital and left his wife there.

“He had gone back to the travellers site when he received a call to say his son’s health was deteriorating.

“Someone offered to lend him a car and he took it with the aim of getting to the hospital as quickly as possible.

“He went in the wrong direction and was caught when he was doing a u-turn to turn around and go towards Chelmsford.”

Magistrates banned Wall from driving for five years.

He was sentenced to 16 weeks for driving whilst disqualified and failing to provide a specimen. The sentences will run concurrently.

Wall will also spend 12 weeks in prison after breaching a suspended sentence wich will run consecutively.

He is already serving a 876 day jail term at Norwich Prison for a third strike burglary offence.