AN “ARROGANT” former public schoolboy has been spared jail after leading police on a high-speed car chase.

Nicholas Pestanta, who lives in Western Road, Canford Cliffs, sped away from officers in a marked car as he believed he was over the limit.

In fact, he was below the legal drink-drive boundary, but admitted to police upon his arrest that he had “panicked”.

The 21-year-old had been at a pub with a friend when he asked to drive his new Mini.

Simon Jones, prosecuting the case at Bournemouth Crown Court, said: “He drove the vehicle out of the pub car park and when officers who were patrolling in Western Road came across the Mini it had no lights on.”

He said the blue lights were illuminated but that Pestanta – who attended King’s Bruton in Somerset – “made no attempt to stop”.

“There was a pursuit and the sirens were utilised but to no avail,” he said, adding that the defendant drove the car at 60 miles per hour in a 30mph zone.

Pestanta stopped after driving into St Aldhelm’s Close, but failed to apply the handbrake and the Mini rolled into the police car, causing damage to both vehicles.

Mitigating, Brian Sharman spoke of the “absurdity of the situation”.

“He thought he was over the drink-drive limit and he certainly was not,” he said.

Mr Sharman said the defendant, who studies at Bournemouth University, had been working “20 to 30 hours a week” in two jobs over the summer.

However, he admitted that in a pre-sentence report, a probation officer had called the defendant “arrogant”.

“There is the flavour of a public school boy who rather thinks he can get away with things as it were,” he said.

Judge Samuel Wiggs sentenced Pestanta – who admitted a single charge of dangerous driving – to complete 200 hours of unpaid work in the next 18 months, as well as a two-year driving disqualification and fines of £360.

“You come across as an arrogant young man and you’re going to have to change that,” he said.

“You may not like the people you work with [as part of his sentence] but you have got to turn up and do it.”