A FAMILY man who took police on a high speed chase through Marshfield while struck with grief from his brother’s death has avoided a jail term.

The judge at Newport Crown Court called it an “unusual case” but said it was a “bad piece of dangerous driving” with speeds reaching up to 90 mph.

Patrick Doran, 33, of Ton-y-Pill farm, Wentloog Road, was given a 10 month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He had pleaded guilty to driving dangerously, failing to provide specimens, failing to stop and using a vehicle with no insurance.

The court heard how on February 3 at around 1.30am this year, Doran was spotted by police driving a Mazda “very slowly” along Marshfield Road.

Doran stopped at the junction but, when he saw the police, he turned his car around and sped off.

The police followed Doran for one mile as he accelerated up to 80 mph along Marshfield Road, where the speed limit is 20 and 30 mph.

The officer watched as Doran kept up the high speed, ignoring the speed bumps, before accelerating to 90 mph and losing control of the car. He hit the kerb, a garden wall and a metal barrier.

Father-of-four Doran refused to take a breath test and was arrested by police. The next day he admitted he had been drinking heavily,

The court heard how Doran had been at the funeral of his 42-year-old brother who had died suddenly and without a known cause.

The judge was told how Doran had been on his way to see where his brother’s body had been found.

Doran’s defence barrister said: “He was in a state of fairly extreme grief of his brother’s sudden death and it did affect his reasoning.

“Anyone who’s suffered a loss like that, it can change the way you see the world. This behaviour is very much out of character for my client.”

Judge Patrick Curran said: “This was a very bad piece of very dangerous driving.

“It’s an unusual case in that you would not have done what you did had you not been in a state of extreme grief as a result of your brother’s sudden death. “