A dangerous driver who led police on a high-speed pursuit with a machete in his car has been jailed.
Officers began following a Volkswagen Polo in New Basford in the early hours of 7 August 2026 after it was seen driving suspiciously along Perry Road.
The Armed Policing team officers activated their blue lights, but the car, being driven by 21-year-old Riyan Ahmed, failed to stop and began to accelerate.
The car reached speeds of 95mph while driving on the wrong side of the carriageway on Valley Road, which has a 40mph speed limit.
Having hit a kerb while turning onto the A60 Mansfield Road, the car damaged a tyre, with pursuing officers taking advantage of this opportunity to bring it to a safe stop.
The Polo was boxed in at the junction of the A60 and Albemarle Road, Woodthorpe.
Officers then removed Ahmed from the driver’s seat of the car he was in.
A machete in a sheath was discovered in the footwell of the vehicle when it was searched.
Ahmed, of Glamis Road, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, possession of a knife in a public place and driving while disqualified and without insurance.
At Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday (1 September) he was jailed for a total of two years.
Police Constable Ryan Bullick, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“This was an appalling display of driving that put the lives of multiple road users in danger.
“When we pursue speeding and dangerous drivers in this way, our primary concern is always for the safety of the general public and all those involved in the pursuit.
“Thanks to the professionalism and training of all the officers and control room staff involved, the vehicle was brought to a safe stop and Ahmed was arrested.
“We also discovered he was driving around with a machete in the footwell of the car, and this weapon was seized and destroyed.”
