Pharmacist jailed for 10 months after dangerous driving left family 'fearing for their lives'

A pharmacist has been jailed for dangerous driving as he made his way home from work in Carlisle, causing other drivers to fear for their lives.

Amar Manzoor, of Plodder Lane, Farnworth, was travelling back to his home near Bolton after his shift as a locum when he sped along lane three of the motorway's southbound carriageway.

Some drivers moved out of the 39-year-old's path in his BMW 325, leaving him directly behind a BMW X5.

As the driver of that vehicle tried to move into lane two, Manzoor repeatedly flashed his lights, undertook him, moved left and right, straddling lanes, essentially leaving the man with "nowhere to go".

There was a collision between the two BMWs with the innocent party’s car also hitting the central reservation and spinning into the path of an oncoming truck, but further contact was mercifully avoided.

The driver of the other BMW said: "The defendant’s actions caused me to crash into the back of him at motorway speed with my children and wife in the car.

"I feared for our lives. Both children suffer from disabilities and were extremely frightened.”

Prosecutor Andrew Evans said: "There is a Russian doll of poor driving. It gradually gets more serious."

Manzoor initially denied that his driving was dangerous and that others had "concocted" a story to "make him look bad".

He later admitted a dangerous driving charge on the day he was due to stand trial.

Nigel Beeson, mitigating, said that guilty plea was "better late than never".

"I do not seek to minimise the poor standard of driving that my client displayed," he told the court.

"He wishes to express his remorse through me so it can be heard by all."

Recorder Paul Hodgkinson concluded that only a prison sentence could suffice the justice of the crime.

"You were flashing your lights, no doubt considering yourself more important than other road users, and your journey more important than everyone else’s," said the judge.

"It was persistent, it was deliberate and it was highly dangerous."

Recorder Hodgkinson also noted the conclusions of a probation officer’s pre-sentence report, which stated that Mazoor "failed to acknowledge that his actions could have resulted in the loss of life".

Manzoor was handed a 10 month jail term, and must also serve a three-year driving ban when released from prison, as well as passing an extended re-test.

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