POLICE have released a video of a car chase that saw a driver reach over 125 miles per hour, with two young children at the back of his car.

Kieran Hayward, 19, of Gloucester, said he sped off from officers because he had no insurance, an offence that would have cost him £400 in fines and points on his licence.

Instead, he ended up with a six-month sentence in the youth detention section of a prison after leading police on a four-mile pursuit across Gloucester.

Unknown to the officers at the time, there was a baby and a five-year-old girl in the back of the Volkswagen Golf he was driving.

Kieran was banned from driving for over two years at Gloucester Crown Court last week after admitting dangerous driving and driving without insurance.

PC Mark Wiacek, who led the pursuit, said: "I first noticed the vehicle because it had a defective number plate.

"Me and my colleague tried to pull it over but he didn't stop, he sped off and things escalated from there.

"He was weaving in and out of traffic, causing vehicles to take evasive action and at times driving in excess of 125 miles an hour.

"The footage shows a near miss on the dual carriageway where a van was pulling into lane one and the Golf had to take evasive action and undertake it on a layby.

"If the layby hadn't been there it could have been a very different story.

"Fortunately the vehicle was forced to come to a stop in a queue of traffic a short time later and we managed to safely extract the driver.

"I was horrified to see children in the back of the car - the five year-old wasn't even belted up appropriately. She was wearing an adult seatbelt with no booster seat.

"When a vehicle drives off at speed and you decide to pursue it you have to make a risk assessment based on what you suspect at that moment and the impact it may have on members of the public.

"There had been a number of high value car thefts at the time and I suspected the vehicle may have been stolen.

"The astonishing thing about this is that the driver decided to speed with two young children in the rear of his vehicle, a fact that was unknown to us until the conclusion of the pursuit.

"The risks this driver was willing to take simply because he had no insurance when it would have only cost him a few hundred pounds and six points on his licence shows his mentality at the time.

"Instead of just stopping and admitting the offence he decided to risk his safety and that of his children and has ended up with his liberty being taken away for six months as a result.

"The messages are clear - firstly do not ignore the law. Police officers are always on the lookout for offences and will stop you if they see you are committing one.

"Secondly, always stop for officers when requested. We are pursuit trained to a very high level and you probably aren't so it is likely to be futile and put others at risk.

"Finally and most importantly, if you are willing to drive recklessly like this and put other road users and your children at risk you will be arrested and it is highly likely you will be given a custodial sentence at court."