A DRIVER swigging Jack Daniels whiskey led police on a 19 minute high speed chase through Bolton.

It took two stingers and several police cars boxing Suhayl Patel's BMW in to bring him to a halt.

Officers found the almost empty whiskey bottle on the passenger seat and Patel was slurring his speech, but he refused to take a breath test.

Patel, aged 36, was arrested and given bail but, just weeks later, the same police officer who had arrested him, spotted him behind the wheel of the BMW again.

A roadside test showed positive for cannabis and cocaine but Patel refused to give a blood sample to confirm the presence of drugs.

At Bolton Crown Patel was jailed for 16 months by the Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh, after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop for police and two counts of failing to provide a specimen.

Simon Barrett, prosecuting, told how, just before 3am on March 16 police saw a BMW 318 driving towards Astley Bridge on Blackburn Road.

The BMW accelerated away, went through two red lights, round a roundabout at 55mph and clipped a kerb, rebounding back into the road.

During the chase Patel headed up Bradshawgate at 50mph.

"It's fair to say there were no pedestrians about but there were plenty of taxi drivers and other drivers and the manner of driving was dangerous," said Mr Barrett.

"There were now several police officers involved trying to block him in but he refused to stop and continued to drive dangerously, braking and turning sharply."

On St Peter's Way his speed hit 90mph as he tried to shake off police and when he headed through a 20mph zone in Little Lever he hit speeds of 60mph on the wrong side of the road.

"Eventually the police successfully directed him over two stinger devices and it was after the second stinger device that the vehicle was disabled and the defendant had no option but to bring it to a halt. He was dragged from the vehicle," said Mr Barrett.

"The defendant smelled heavily of intoxicant, he was slurring his speech and was clearly unsteady on his feet."

Police found the Jack Daniels bottle inside the vehicle.

"The officers believed he was drinking the whiskey whilst he was driving,"said Mr Barrett.

Police came across Patel again on April 29 when they stopped him in the car. This time he was arrested and remanded in custody.

Paul Becker, defending, told the court that, on the night Patel was driving dangerously, he had had an argument with his wife and admits he has had issues with drugs and alcohol.

Sentencing him, the Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh told him: "Driving of this nature could have had catastrophic consequences."

Patel, of Old Road, Astley Bridge, was also banned from driving for four years and eight months.