A DANGEROUS banned driver 'panicked' and led police on a high speed chase before ditching his car, lying that he had been at church.

Shaun Lisseman, a convicted drug dealer, blew a kiss to his partner and shouted 'love you babe!' as he was jailed for dangerous driving and driving while disqualified near Worcester at the city's crown court.

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The 33-year-old of Oakham Drive, Droitwich was arrested after a pursuit which began near the Copcut roundabout in Droitwich at around 4pm on Sunday, March 13.

Worcester News: GUILTY: Shaun Lisseman, pictured after his ABH conviction in 2016.GUILTY: Shaun Lisseman, pictured after his ABH conviction in 2016.

The pursuit ended with the defendant, who has 13 previous convictions for 23 offences, abandoning his BMW in Cornmeadow Lane in Claines.

Matthew Cullen, prosecuting, said Lisseman, alone in the car at the time, was identified by officers because of his 'distinguishing bald head and facial tattoos'.

He described Lisseman, who has previous convictions for ABH and dealing a class B drug (Mephedrone), mounting the kerb to get around the police car, forcing officers to reverse before following the BMW towards Calder Close.

Worcester News: COURT: Shaun Lisseman admitted the offences at the first opportunityCOURT: Shaun Lisseman admitted the offences at the first opportunity

At one stage the BMW was described as 'reversing towards them at speed' and 'officers were caused to reverse back to avoid a collision'.

During the pursuit Lisseman ran red lights, went on the wrong side of the road, crossed solid white lines and exceeded the speed limit.

He crossed the Copcut roundabout again without slowing down before 'continuing at speed on the A38' towards Worcester.

The chase was deemed so dangerous that police ultimately abandoned the pursuit and the BMW was found unoccupied in Cornmeadow Lane in Claines.

Dogs were used to track Lisseman and he was found in the grounds of a nearby church.

"He claimed he had been in the church and started to walk away," said Mr Cullen.

However, officers stopped and identified him. Keys to the BMW were found in a bush in the churchyard.

Lisseman has a drug driving conviction from April 7, 2021 which led to 12-month ban and a conviction for driving while disqualified and driving without insurance in November 2021 which led to a further 12-month ban, imposed on February 8 this year.

Tom Kenning, defending, described Lisseman as a father-of-three who 'really wants to put his offending behind him'.

Lisseman's decision to drive away from police was 'panic', the barrister said.

Judge Nicholas Cole told Lisseman: "You were under no illusion you should not have been driving. You had only been sentenced a matter of weeks before you decided to go out on public roads knowing you were disqualified. That, in itself, is serious enough to justify a custodial sentence because it shows a flagrant disregard for orders of the court. It went much further than that."

Lisseman being imprisoned 'is not a good example' for his three children, the judge said. He added: "You should be ashamed of that."

Lisseman was jailed for 10 months and banned from driving for three years and five months. He must sit an extended driving test if he wants to drive again.