A PENSNETT man crashed his father’s luxury car during a police chase after he took it to show his friends.

John Donovan, aged 22, who earns £3,000 a month working for the family construction business, took the new Mercedes CLS 500 car just a week after it was bought by his father to "show it off to friends."

But when patrolling police officers spotted the vehicle Donovan, who had no driving licence or insurance, accelerated away hitting 60mph in a 30mph limit in Brierley Hill.

Donovan then came to a junction and although he slowed down he crossed and collided with a Peugeot car carrying a man and his wife who were left badly shaken but with minor injuries.

Hugh O'Brien-Quinn, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court the couple’s Peugeot, valued at £2,000, had to be written off as a result of the crash.

He said the Mercedes rolled across the rest of the road and then appeared to stop but as the police car pulled alongside the vehicle Donovan again accelerated away from the scene.

The officers lost sight of the Mercedes but were able to follow a trail of leaking liquid from the vehicle and they saw Donovan and his passenger get out of the car and run away but he was quickly arrested.

Donovan of Falknor Drive, admitted aggravated vehicle taking, failing to stop after an accident and having no licence or insurance.

He was given a ten month jail term suspended for two years, ordered to carry out 180 hours unpaid work in the community and fined a total of £2,500.

Judge John Wait further ordered he must obey a five month curfew between the hours of 8pm and 5am and pay £200 costs.

The judge told Donovan, "You are a fool" as he stressed he would have to spend the time he would have served in prison inside his home for the next five months.

Simon Hanns, for Donovan, said his client was a hard working young man who was full of remorse for his actions and he now owed his father a considerable amount of money for what was a very expensive incident.