Two men who wrote off a �100,000 Aston Martin Vantage car during a high-speed race with a BMW M3 in the Isle of Dogs have been disqualified from driving for just 18 months.

The two drivers had never met when they pulled up in the hired vehicles in Canary Wharf on during the afternoon of July 6 2010 and raced in and out of tunnels towards the Limehouse Link tunnel.

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard last Thursday, how the BMW collided with the Aston Martin, sending it spinning into a concrete wall in Aspen Way.

Saifur Rahman, 24, of Turners Road, Mile End, also received a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was given 100 hours community service after tearing through the streets at almost twice the speed limit in the Aston Martin, which had previously been used at the James Bond premiere.

Christopher Owolabni, 28, from Giffin Street, Deptford, who was driving the BMW, was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 140 hours of community service.

Both men walked away from the collision unharmed.

Det Con Robert Eastick of the MPS’s Traffic Operational Command Unit said: “It was a miracle no-one was killed. The CCTV footage clearly shows that the Aston Martin was a few feet away from colliding with other motorists after it had lost control. Both drivers showed a complete disregard for other motorists and their own safety when they raced at very high speed on what was a very busy summer’s day.”

Ryan Atherleyley, 28, of Vaughan Street, Rotherhithe received a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to complete 150 hours of community service for falsely telling police he was the driver of the BMW M3 at the time of the collision.

Owolabni was also found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice for his role in claiming Atherleyley was the driver at the time of the crash.

All three men were also ordered to pay �500 each for court costs. Owolabni and Rahman both face driving re-tests once their disqualification period ends.