A banned driver who smashed into four police cars during a high speed chase across east London to escape arrest has been jailed.

Shuahan Uddin was being been flagged down in a Mercedes by a police patrol while driving from Tower Bridge along The Highway in Shadwell because he was recognised as someone “known for gang activity”, magistrates heard.

Officers signalled to Uddin, but he wouldn’t stop and the police chase began through the eastbound Limehouse Link tunnel, along the A13 East India Dock Road through Poplar and the Barking Road at Canning Town, then out to Beckton onto the A406 northward and eventually the M11 motorway.

The Merc swerved off the M11 at junction 6 Loughton turn-off, police hotly on its tail, then back onto the motorway going the other way before it crashed further south. Officers eventually managed to stop the vehicle after they boxed it in against the central reservation.

Several attempts at “tactical contact” had been made to bring the Mercedes to a halt, but Uddin rammed past several times.

Uddin still continued trying to evade capture and police had to use taser discharge to restrain him.

The 27-year-old was finally arrested following the hair-raising chase in April across east London and up and down the motorway.

Uddin was ended up before Thames magistrates where he admitted charges of dangerous driving, causing criminal damage to vehicles and driving with no licence or insurance.

Five vehicles were damaged during the chase, including four police patrols, the other belonging to a member of the public. An officer was also slightly injured during the pursuit.

The dangerous driving lasted 20 minutes, police said, which was brought to a halt between junctions four and six southbound on the motorway, just south of the M25 junction.

Uddin was later found to be a disqualified driver and subject of a court order banning him from being in the front seat of a vehicle.

“The damage caused means several police cars are off the road while they’re repaired,” Pc Josh Haase said after the court hearing. “Uddin was intent on evading arrest at all costs and showed a complete disregard for the safety of police and other road users.

“This was a sustained period of dangerous driving that was extremely fortunate not to cause a serious injury.”

Details of the police pursuit incident were released by Scotland Yard today. Uddin, who has no fixed address, was remanded to Snaresbrook Crown Court on July 3 where he was sentenced to 16 months and banned from driving for four years and 11 months.