A MAN who drove “like a bullet out of a gun” as he led police on a 90mph car chase through Christchurch has been jailed.

Kane Salmon, of Kimberley Road in Southbourne, drove at breakneck speed on the wrong side of the road while being pursued by a marked police car.

He then hit another vehicle before motoring off once again, dumping his car in a ditch and attempting to evade officers on foot.

On Friday, the 25-year-old was sent to prison after a judge heard he had driven at more than twice the 40mph speed limit.

Jenny Rickman, prosecuting, said a single police officer was involved in the pursuit of Salmon’s black Ford Focus – for which he does not have a licence – after spotting a car with three men inside it on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 16.

She said: “The vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the road, and cars travelling in that direction had to take avoiding action.”

At one point, the car stopped near an alleyway in Edward Road, and the two male passengers made off on foot before Salmon continued his perilous getaway.

He then struck a car being driven by a Christchurch woman on her way to walk her dog with a friend. She was not hurt.

He admitted dangerous driving, using a motor vehicle on a road or public place without insurance, driving a car without a licence and failing to stop at the scene of an accident at Bournemouth Crown Court in May.

Mitigating, Kevin Hill said the defendant had bought the car and insured it, but had not passed a driving test.

“He is someone who is struggling with the challenges of life,” he said.

“When I asked him how he felt about the victim in this case, he said he realised she must be ‘tormented’.”

Sentencing Salmon to four months behind bars, Judge Samuel Wiggs said he had “brought this matter wholly on himself”.

Salmon was also disqualified from driving for two years, and must take an extended test when he applies for a licence.

On look-out for car after shooting

Police are believed to have been on the lookout for Salmon’s dark-coloured Ford Focus following an alleged shooting in Jewell Road, Bournemouth.

In order to comply with his bail conditions before he returned to the court for sentence, Salmon was told not to enter the Townsend Estate, or make contact with a group of named individuals.

This group includes Ethan Stanley of Hamilton Road, who was charged with the attempted murder of 48-year-old Mark Williams.

The charge relates to an alleged incident at a property in Jewell Road just after midnight on April 16.

Stanley, 24, also faces charges of unlawfully and maliciously wounding Mr Williams’ son, John, between March 15 and 18.