A MAN using a cash machine had to leap for his life when a car being pursued by police ploughed into a wall just feet away from him.

Carl Kidd had sped off when two police officers saw him sitting in a car in Farnworth and realised he was wanted on warrant.

He drove off in a panic, stopped to let a passenger out and then sped off through red lights before finally crashing when he took a corner too fast.

Yesterday Kidd, aged 26, of Pilkington Road, Kearsley, was jailed for six months when he appeared at Bolton Crown Court for sentence for dangerous driving and driving without insurance.

The court heard that Kidd drove at speed 50mph along Market Street in Farnworth, a 30mph zone.

He finally turned a corner too fast and hit a metal bollard and then crashed into a wall near a cash point where the man had to leap out of the way. Kidd was caught after a short chase.

Maisie Burke, defending, said Kidd had driven off in a panic when he saw the police even though he had not been drinking or taking drugs. He had bought the car to sell on but realised he should have had insurance.

Recorder Richard Brittain said that the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence was justified. Kidd was also banned from driving for three years.