A Blackburn man crashed his car into a wall after taking police on a chase round Blackpool town centre.

John McDonagh, also known as Shane McDonagh, appeared at Preston Crown Court where prosecutor, Lisa Worsley said in the very early hours of March 15, 2022, McDonagh was spotted by police in a dark coloured BMW driving out of Corporation Street into Clifton Street.

She said: “It was around 1.45am and he was turning round the corner and as the officer followed, a pedestrian jumped out and told the officer the driver of the BMW had just come out of the pub and was ‘p***ed’.

“The officer pursued him and as he got behind he saw the defendant was going a little too quickly.

“He waited until the car had turned into another street and then activated his lights.

“The BMW then came to a stop at the corner of King Street and Caunce Street and a passenger got out, but then the BMW sped away.

“It was going at a considerable speed and went through a red light at Caunce Street and Grosvenor Street and the officer was struggling to keep up with it.

“He then saw the defendant going through another set of red lights and other vehicles had to slam on their brakes to avoid the BMW.

“He was travelling considerably above the speed limit and continued to cross junctions at speed but as he reached the top of Caunce Street he went to turn left.

“The officer could see him and as he approached, he was met with a scene of chaos.

“The rear end of the BMW was demolished, and the bumper embedded into another car.”

Ms Worsley said McDonagh then got out of the vehicle and ran up a drive and into a house in Caunce Street.

He was found by the officer lying on the floor near a table and appeared to be unconscious and failing to respond and there was blood on the floor.

Ms Worsley went on: “He was eventually arrested, and the officer described a scene of devastation as the BMW had damage to its rear and had come to rest into a garden wall on Caunce Street.

“It had also damaged a Ford Ranger.

“McDonagh was given a roadside breath test, but it revealed a negative result.”

McDonagh, 25, of Meadow Close, Blackburn, has 14 convictions for 17 offences and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

He had been remanded into custody in August for an unrelated matter and before that had been on electronic curfew since February this year, again for an unrelated matter.

Recorder Philip Grundy said: “You can’t be driving like that in the early hours of the morning putting pedestrians at risk and other road users at risk.”

McDonagh was jailed for 16 months suspended for 12 months, told to complete 15 rehabilitation activity days and was banned from driving for two years and 63 days.

He must sit an extended retest if he wants to drive again in the future.