A DRIVER who was dealing drugs to pay off his own debt sped off from police at 80mph before crashing into other vehicles.

Emmanuel Akinyemi was at the wheel of an Audi in Bournemouth town centre when officers asked him to pull over.

He continued driving down Lansdowne Road and shortly after turning into Christchurch Road he accelerated away from police.

A pursuit followed in which Akinyemi drove through a red light at the junction with Knyveton Road before colliding with a vehicle he was trying to undertake.

The 27-year-old went through another red light, continued at 50mph and crashed with two parked cars. He tried to escape arrest but he was detained.

A hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court on June 11 was told Akinyemi, of St Giles Road, London, pleaded guilty on a basis that had been put under pressure to pay off his own drug debt and he was acting under direction to supply drugs.

Prosecuting, Letitia Egan said officers found 12 wraps of crack cocaine and 15 wraps of diamorphine in the car following the driving incident on the evening of December 23, 2019

She said messages found on his phone were "consistent with drug dealing". The defendant had 12 previous convictions for 23 offences, the court heard.

Akinyemi previously pleaded guilty to driving dangerously, driving without a licence, using a vehicle without insurance, using a vehicle with tyres with insufficient tread, obstructing or resisting a police constable and two counts of possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply.

Mitigating, Mark Bagshaw said the offences took place "an awful long time ago" and his client had remained out of trouble since then.

"These offences occurred because of a drug habit of his own," said Mr Bagshaw.

The barrister said there was sufficient mitigation and circumstances to avoid sending Akinyemi directly to prison.

Recorder Marcus Pilgerstorfer QC said the offences crossed the custody threshold, but a suspended sentence was appropriate.

"In my judgement there does remain a prospect of rehabilitation and I would like nothing less than to see you rehabilitated and for you to turn your back on drugs," the judge said.

Akinyemi received a 22-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with a requirement to complete a 29-day Thinking Skills Programme, to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and to follow an overnight curfew for three months.

The defendant was also disqualified from driving for 12 months, with an extended retest requirement, and ordered to pay £100 costs and £149 surcharge.

The drugs and phone seized were to be forfeited and destroyed.