A MAN who tried to escape police in a 100 mph chase has escaped jail but has been banned from the roads for three years.

Daniel Wright was spotted by a patrol car as he sped along the A456 in Hagley at 11.20pm on October 5 last year, Worcester Crown Court was told.

Police realised he was not insured because he had not paid for a previous driving awareness course after doing an insurance check and started to follow him.

He lost control on a bend in the road at a speed estimated by his passengers as 120 mph but police calculated it was at least 90 mph when he left the road and went into a field.

Simon Jones, who was in a rear seat, received severe spinal injuries, said Christopher Lester, prosecuting. None of the other occupants of the car were seriously injured.

Wright, aged 23, of Vicarage Road, Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He was given a 15-month jail sentence suspended for two years and was disqualified from driving for three years. He will have take an extended test before he can drive again.

He was also ordered to pay £1,200 in court costs, a £100 victim surcharge and undertake 250 hours unpaid work. "You are very lucky," said Recorder Graeme Cliff.

When interviewed by police, Wright said he thought his disqualification for his previous drink driving case had ended.

Mr Lester said the aggravating feature of the case was the speed as Wright tried to get away from police.

Siobhan Collins, mitigating, said Wright had worked for four years as a warehouse manager for Aldi. He had left school at 16 and obtained a position of trust. He lived with his parents and had a partner for two years.

He had been depressed by a family bereavement and had been mortified about the injuries caused by the accident.

The Recorder said it had been an "appalling" piece of driving. Wright had driven in highly dangerous fashion as he tried to get away from police.

"You could have killed not only yourself but your passengers in driving the way you did," he added.