A HIGH speed police chase in the New Forest ended with a driver crashing into a gate, Southampton Crown Court heard.

Police had been looking for James Baker in connection with an unrelated matter and found a BMW they believed he was driving.

Prosecutor Roderick Blain said Baker made off at considerable speed from outside a pub in Long Lane, Holbury, and there followed a chase with speeds up to 120mph.

He finally lost control in Southampton Road, Hythe, and crashed into a gate. He made off and police brought in tracker dogs before he was eventually found in woods.

Baker, 23, of Roewood Close, Holbury, admitted failing to give a specimen of breath for analysis. At the time he was subject to a nine-month suspended sentence from Exeter Crown Court for stealing cable.

David Lyons, defending, said if Baker was jailed, his father would sack him.

But Judge Peter Ralls QC activated five months of the suspended sentence and gave him a consecutive term of one month for the breathalyser offence. Baker was also disqualified from driving for two years with an order to take an extended retest.