Drug-driver Shane Taljaard from Ashley, New Milton, took police on 11-minute car chase in Bournemouth

A pensioner came within seconds of being run over by a New Milton drug-driver who took police on an 11-minute car chase.

Shane Taljaard (39), from Ashley, drove at speeds up to 70mph on 30mph roads during the pursuit, jumped numerous red lights, and crashed into two cars and a lamppost.

In dramatic CCTV footage shown at Bournemouth Crown Court he can be seen roaring through a red light at a crossing at 70mph just as the pensioner reached the other side.

The speed limit on that road was 30mph, prosecutor Ben Thompson said, and a bus blocked Taljaard’s view of the crossing so he had no idea the man was on it as he approached.

This happened at Cemetery Junction in Bournemouth just after 11am on 21st September last year.

Police had tried to apprehend Taljaard as he drove in the town. He had no licence and was with a passenger who also did not have one, the court heard.

But as police approached their vehicle Taljaard “just took off”. During the car chase the defendant, who has 23 previous convictions for 60 offences – including five for driving – mounted the pavement several times, shot through red lights and collided with two other vehicles.

The pursuit happened across Glenferness Avenue, Branksome Wood Road, Elgin Road, Braidley Road, Cemetery Junction and Charminster Way. It ended only after the defendant slammed the vehicle into a lamppost on Wessex Way.

Taljaard, of The Noel, Waterford Road, was unhurt, and tests showed he was under the influence of cocaine and THC. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and two counts of driving while under the influence of drugs.

In defence, barrister Laura Duff said her client realised the “severity” of his offending and “expressed remorse”.

Pleading for him to be given a suspended sentence, she said Taljaard had a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation” as there had been “gaps in his offending”.

She said he also “recognises the error of his life” and “has no intention of ever coming near the court again”.

Ms Duff added that although Taljaard had told a probation officer he had cut his cocaine use to less than once a month, he was, in fact, now drug-free.

But Judge Robert Pawson told her that Taljaard presented “an ongoing risk to the public”.

He said that the CCTV showed that he had missed the pensioner on the crossing by around 10 seconds.

The judge said: “I know all of these roads. At 11am it’s busy with people going about their lawful business.”

He said despite that Taljaard had embarked on a car chase that was “prolonged and dangerous”, and that at one stage he had nearly had a “head on collision” with another vehicle.

The judge said the defendant was also “unconcerned with the danger you posed to the police officers”.

He said Taljaard’s criminal record “spanned over 17 years”.

Jailing Taljaard for 16 months for dangerous driving, he also sentenced him to four months on each charge of drug-driving to run concurrently.

He disqualified him from driving for three-and-a-half years, with an extension of eight months. He also ordered him to take a retest when the ban was up.