A man who drove with only three wheels at high speeds on country roads around Ringwood has been spared jail.

Bournemouth man John Dalrymple, right, travelled at least nine miles from when his car – trailing a “shower of orange metallic sparks” from the missing wheel as it grated along the road surface – was first spotted on the wrong side of the road to the south of the town at around 10.30pm on July 3, 2014.

A group sat in stationary cars in the town centre saw him drive past moments later and he was next spotted on the A338 bound for Blashford, driving in excess of 70mph. The 33-year-old, who had taken heroin that evening, narrowly avoided colliding with two vehicles before rolling to a halt outside a home in Bickton.

Passing a sentence of nine months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months with supervision, Recorder Robert Pawson told Dalrymple he would have been jailed for at least ten years if his actions had led to a fatal crash.

“Your driving last July was in any view absolutely appalling,” he said at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday.

“Many will say you deserve to go to prison immediately for the risk you took with other people’s lives, but the public need you to be drug free.”

He said prison was a “blunt tool” and a rehabilitation plan would provide the best protection for the public.

Prosecutor Carolyn Branford-Wood said several drivers who witnessed Dalrymple’s driving were so concerned they followed his Volkswagen Polo to his destination.

When arrested, Dalrymple told police the description of his driving was “preposterous” and he considered himself a “good driver”. He was found to have heroin, morphine and signs of other drugs in his blood and has a prior conviction for possession of drugs. In mitigation, Robert Grey said his client had struggled with mental health issues including depression for some years, and was also a long-term drug addict.

“It may be that he got himself into a state where he didn’t know what he was doing,” he said.

Dalrymple, of Dean Park Road, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving and one count of driving while unfit through drug use. He was banned from driving for three years.