A man from Chester has been sentenced after reaching speeds of over 125mph during a police pursuit.

Kerion Griffiths of Longfield Avenue, Chester, has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after appearing at Chester Magistrates' Court on November 12.

On August 2, a uniformed motorcycle officer noticed a green Kawaski ZX1000 motorbike overtake a group of bikes at a set of temporary traffic lights at over 100mph on the A54 Chester Road.

The officer pursued the bike and indicated it pull over.

However, it failed to do so and continued to drive in excess of the speed limits on 70mph, 50mph and 20mph roads.

During the pursuit, the officer recorded the motorbike reaching speeds of over 125mph and was forced to abandon the pursuit due to the level of risk being taken by Griffiths.

A week later, two officers were on patrol on the A41 Chester Road in Ellesmere Port when they pulled over the same green Kawaski motorbike.

One of the officers had been made aware of the earlier pursuit and subsequently arrested Griffiths for failing to stop for police and dangerous driving.

A subsequent search also resulted in the officers uncovering several cannabis cigarettes in his rucksack, which led to him being tested at the roadside for drugs.

This test coming back positive for him having traces of cannabis in his system and he was further arrested on suspicion of drug driving and then taken into custody.

Once in custody, officers conducted a section 18 search of his home, with them finding a further quantity of cannabis inside.

Griffiths was again further arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis.

During his interview, Griffiths told officers he was "going to go guilty" and fully admitted to being the rider of the Kawasaki motorcycle involved in the pursuit on August 2.

He then revealed he was aware that a police motorcycle had indicated to him to pull over, but had panicked and reached the high speeds on his bike in an attempt to flee.

The 31-year-old was subsequently charged and pleaded guilty on his first appearance in court on October 14.

Griffiths was handed an 18-month driving ban on top of his sentence, alongside a £272 court charge and a 12-month supervision period. If he reoffends during this time, he could face a custodial sentence.

Sergeant Andy Griffiths, of the Constabulary's Motorcycle Unit, said: "It was clear that Keiron Griffiths was using our roads as a racetrack and had no intention to stop travelling at dangerously high speeds that the pursuing officer observed.

"Not only this, but when arrested by colleagues a week later, he was found to be over drug drive limit and in possession of cannabis.

"High speeds paired with riding under the influence of illegal substance only further increased the risk his posed to other road users, pedestrians and himself.

"However, thanks to the teamwork shown by our officers, including the PC who remembered hearing about the green Kawasaki motorbike that sped away from his colleague at over 125mph a week earlier, a successful prosecution has been made and another dangerous driver has been removed from our roads."