A man who led police on a high-speed chase to escape a warrant has been banned from the roads for 18 months.

Che Pennyman, 49, from Pembroke, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failure to stop for police and riding an auxiliary cycle without a licence at Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

Magistrate Tyrone Chin said Pennyman’s driving was “totally horrendous” and put the safety of pedestrians and other motorists at risk.

The court heard that at about 4.45pm on March 11, police were on patrol in the Cobbs Hill area when they spotted Pennyman ride a red auxiliary cycle on to Cobbs Hill without stopping.

They followed Pennyman north on the road until he turned on to Ord Road, where he again ignored stop signs.

The police turned on their sirens but Pennyman sped up.

He led police on a chase through Ord Road, Tribe Road No 1, Tribe Road No 2 and sections of the Railway Trail.

The court heard pedestrians on the trail were forced to get out of the way to avoid being hit.

Pennyman abandoned the bike in a driveway on Ord Road and ran, but was caught in a nearby back yard and arrested.

The outstanding warrant was related to the theft of a motorcycle in November last year.

Pennyman told police: “You caught me, but I returned the bike.”

He fined Pennyman $150 for riding without a licence and $200 for failing to stop for police.

Mr Chin added that the dangerous-driving offence deserved the maximum penalty of a $1,500 fine, along with an 18-month disqualification from driving all vehicles.

He said: “You should know better than this.”

The bike theft case was heard on March 12 — the day after the chase — and Pennyman was sentenced to a year in jail, suspended for two years.

Magistrates’ Court heard that Pennyman had stolen a bike owned by Dwayne Caines, the City of Hamilton’s chief operating officer.

Pennyman later returned the bike to City Hall and apologised to Mr Caines.

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