AN UNINSURED driver caught speeding at more than 130mph on the Bingley bypass - believed to be the highest recorded by police on the road - has been disqualified from driving for two years.

Kahsam Farooq, 20, who was in a Volkswagen Golf R32, was caught during Operation Steerside, a crackdown on dangerous drivers in the Bradford district, at about 12.30am on May 16 this year.

Police were forced to reach 134mph to catch the Golf, which had three male passengers, and Farooq had to swerve hard to avoid hitting the centre of a roundabout due to his sheer speed as he travelled through Bingley towards Keighley.

Farooq was clocked speeding at 100mph in the 50mph limit of the bypass and reached speeds of more than 130mph in the 70mph limit.

When he was eventually stopped, Farooq told police the Golf was registered with a man at an address in Thornton, Bradford, and was insured to another man in Settle, North Yorkshire.

Farooq, of Worth Avenue, Keighley, failed to appear for the hearing at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court yesterday, where he faced charges of driving without insurance, speeding in excess of 70mph and speeding in excess of 50mph.

The court was told Farooq had a previously clean driving licence.

Outlining the case against him, Wayne Butterfield, prosecuting, said: “He had to negotiate a roundabout and had to brake hard and swerve to the left and avoid a collision with the centre of the roundabout.

“The police officer had to travel no less than 100mph to even make a gain on the vehicle. He was 300 yards behind the car.”

Yunus Mayat, chairman of magistrates, called the manner of Farooq's driving a “very, very serious matter”.

Farooq had also failed to appear for a previous hearing at the court on July 20, magistrates were told.

Convicting him in his absence of all three offences, they also ordered him to pay a total of £932, which included a £770 fine, £77 surcharge and £85 court costs.

After the hearing, Sergeant Cameron Buchan, who is leading Operation Steerside, described the speed reached by Farooq as “unacceptable and unjustifiable” and welcomed the punishment handed out by the magistrates.

“The punishment is right considering the level at which he broke the speed limit," he said.

“I was speechless as I saw the speed go up in the police car that was following him.

“It was breathtaking to be travelling at that speed. It was almost double the limit.

“Clearly if something had gone wrong at that speed the possibilities with fatalities would be scary.

“This sort of speeding is unimaginable.

“For the offence of speeding, he was given the most severe punishment he could.

“I have prosecuted people for doing 125mph on a motorway and thought that was high, but I couldn’t believe more than 130mph.”

Sgt Buchan added the disqualification demonstrated that police and the courts were working well together on speeding cases.

He said: “This punishment should be a good deterrent.

“The magistrates have sent quite a strong message here. He has been given a heavy fine too.

“It is reassuring that the magistrates and the police are working hand-in-hand and they have dealt with the case admirably.

“Anyone in Bradford will know it is unacceptable and unjustifiable.

“You don’t need me, as a police officer, to tell anybody that 130mph on a bypass, or anywhere, is unacceptable."

Farooq was condemned as a “moronic idiot” by Councillor Mark Shaw (Con, Bingley) for the manner of his driving after police revealed details of his arrest.