Watch: Driver led police on 10-minute chase in Warwickshire and went wrong way down dual carriageway - then asked "Why was my driving poor?"

A driver led police on a 10-minute late night high-speed car chase and then ran off and hid - and when he was caught asked officers: "Why was my driving poor?"

Police who had been tailing Tariq Zaman were gobsmacked by his reply, after they had watched him drive on the wrong side of the road, swerve to avoid traffic, lose control of his car, and reach 68mph in a 30mph zone and 80mph in a 40mph zone.

Zaman, 42, from Medlicott Road in Birmingham, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court to 20 months in prison for dangerous driving, and is also required to pay a victims’ surcharge of £156 as well as being disqualified from holding a driving licence for 34 months and until an extended competence test has been passed.

On 21 July 2022 at around 11.45pm, following a request to stop by an officer, Zaman pretended to comply before launching his Peugeot 407 Estate at high speeds through Kenilworth. This then led to an almost-10-minute chase through Kenilworth towards Balsall Common.

Police say Zaman hit 68mph in the 30mph zone outside a primary school on Clinton Lane in Kenilworth; at another, he hit 80mph in a 40 on Birmingham Road towards Balsall Common.

When Zaman took a turn down the wrong side of the A452 dual carriageway, police had to pursue on a parallel road to reduce risk to other road users. Zaman then took a wrong turn onto a building site and ended up confronted with a closed road, at which point he jumped out of the car and attempted a cross-country escape.

He was found not long afterwards perching on a pile of rubble nearby, inside an empty shell of a building. During his arrest, Zaman asked officers “What did you think of my driving?”

On being told it was poor, Zaman (who less than 30 minutes before had been hurtling the wrong way down the A452 with very little control of his vehicle) asked “Why was it poor?”.

Investigating officer DC Samir Hassan said “Zaman had a clear and flagrant disregard for the safety of the people of Kenilworth and Balsall Common. This chase involved so many near-misses and moments where Zaman almost lost traction completely that it’s a miracle that no-one was hurt. The gall of Zaman to ask for a review of his driving afterwards is astonishing – we’re not sure how many stars 20 months in prison and a 34-month driving ban translates to, but it definitely isn’t five.”