A driver carrying a samurai sword and claw hammer has been jailed after a high-speed police chase.

Stephen McColl, 34, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 20 months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court.

In the early hours of September 2 last year he was seen filling a blue Vauxhall Astra with £65 worth of fuel at a petrol station in Sandwich and leaving without paying.

He was seen later that morning driving the same car through Ramsgate and ignored the blue lights of the police and sped off.

His driving became so dangerous that officers stopped following him and later found the car abandoned with a samurai sword and claw hammer inside.

McColl pleaded guilty to eight offences including dangerous driving, two counts of driving while disqualified, two counts of driving without insurance, two charges of making off without payment and possession of a blade.

He has also been banned from driving for three years.

Detective constable Sarah Phillips said: “McColl showed a total lack of regard for other drivers - not only was he driving while disqualified, but was seen doing it in a dangerous and aggressive manner along busy roads at a time of day when people are on their way to work or school.

“He showed no respect for those businesses he stole fuel from, and a total disregard for the law, so I am pleased the courts have sent him to prison.”