A motorist high on horse tranquilisers drove towards oncoming traffic at 70mph for 46 miles because he was ‘desperate to see Blackpool beach’.
Imran Zaman’s dangerous journey only came to end after repeated attempts from police to stop his vehicle.
A court has heard how he continued to speed down the motorway even after his tyres had been shredded by a stinger device.
The 40-year-old was jailed for 18 months after admitting to dangerous driving at Carlisle Crown Court.
When Zaman’s Nissan Juke was finally pulled over after a 35-minute pursuit, he was found to have 138mcg of Class-B drug ketamine in his system; 20mcg being the legal amount.
Prosecutor Tim Evans said the alarm was raised just after 1am on January 22 this year.
Fearing for the public’s safety, the officer abandoned his escort duty and began to shadow Zaman’s Nissan car.
Activating his lights and sirens, the officer followed the Nissan which travelled into oncoming traffic before several more police cars also attempted to stop the car.
On two occasions, police officers positioned their patrol cars across two lanes of the motorway, hoping to slow down or stop Zaman, but he failed to do either and officers deemed it too dangerous to ram him.
Mr Evans said: ‘He simply sped past, the wrong way, in the outside lane.’
At Junction 42, Zaman briefly stopped to let three men get out of the car but he then resumed his journey.
Mr Evans added: ‘Ultimately, there was 46 miles worth of driving, in excess of 35 minutes, the wrong way along the carriageway.’
The police stinger device was deployed near to junction 41 which ‘deflated all four tyres but even that didn’t cause the defendant to stop; he continued speeding southbound.’
The defendant was eventually stopped near to Junction 39 after police created a rolling roadblock with their cars.
Mr Evans added: ‘The defendant came out of his vehicle looking dazed and under the influence of drugs. He talked about driving to Blackpool beach to clear his head.
‘He said his mind was gone. He didn’t really notice the police cars or the blue lights flashing past.’
Jeff Smith, defending, said his client had no previous convictions.
When asked about Zaman’s ‘terrible’ boast that he would continue taking drugs, the lawyer told the judge: ‘He tells me the probation officer got him at a low point.
‘He knows that his drug use must end otherwise he is going to kill himself or kill somebody else.’
Jailing him for 18 months, Judge James Adkin told Zaman: ‘You engaged in an extraordinary piece of dangerous driving.
This is far too serious for it to be suspended.’
Zaman, of Blackburn, Lancs, was also given a 33-month driving ban and told he must pass an extended retest before driving independently again.
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