A VAN driver was jailed after he shunted a taxi out of the way to escape the police during a high-speed chase through Newport.

After hitting the cabbie in the city centre, Tyler Jones undertook a bus and several motorists were forced to stop to avoid crashing into him.

Anthony Cheung, prosecuting, said the uninsured 25-year-old was asked by police to get out of his newly bought £2,500 Ford Transit van in Upper Dock Street.

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But instead of listening to an officer, he pulled off, with his girlfriend as a passenger, and headed off towards the Old Green roundabout.

Mr Cheung told Cardiff Crown Court the roads on that Saturday afternoon just before 2pm on August 17 were busy with slow-moving traffic.

He said: “The van collided with a taxi which was carrying a passenger and pushed it up the road.”

Jones, of Chelmer Close, Bettws, Newport, then sped up Queensway at 40mph and around 50mph along Clytha Park Road before he managed to escape.

He was arrested a short time later on Ford Street after abandoning the Ford Transit and he initially denied knowing anything about a van.

Jones later admitted it was his vehicle and he had bought it the day before for £2,500.

The defendant admitted dangerous driving, driving with no insurance and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Mr Cheung said Jones had four previous convictions for eight offences which included drug driving, driving with no insurance and taking a vehicle without consent.

The court heard the taxi driver suffered damage to his bumper and lights.

Gareth Williams, mitigating, said on behalf of Jones: “He is not someone who is all bad. He is someone who is actively looking for work.

“The defendant is sorry for what he has done and regrets it.”

Judge Rhys Rowlands told Jones: “A number of other vehicles were forced to pull over to avoid a collision.

“This was deliberate risk-taking driving. You effectively shunted a taxi out of the way and undertook a bus in the middle of the day in the centre of Newport.”

He jailed Jones for six months and banned him from driving for 21 months.

The defendant will also have to pay a victim surcharge upon his release from prison.