THIS is the moment a driver wrapped his personalised number plate Mercedes around a lamppost.

Christopher Moss gunned his Mercedes CLA down Fleming Way shortly before 9pm on July 12 as he made off from police.

Now, the 27-year-old Cricklade Road man has lost his licence – along with his car, which he slammed into a lamppost on Holbrook Way opposite British Transport Police’s offices.

Appearing before Swindon Crown Court, Moss was given a 12-month community order. He must do 140 hours of unpaid work and up to 20 rehabilitation days.

He was banned from the roads for a year and must complete an extended driving test when he is finally allowed to get back behind the wheel.

Moss had pleaded guilty at Swindon Magistrates’ Court last month to a charge of dangerous driving.

The police officer who pursued him through the centre of town slammed Moss’s driving as “completely unacceptable”.

PC James Salmond said: “Moss showed no regard for other road users or pedestrians when he made off from officers at speed, along one of the busiest roads in the town centre.

“There were a number of people out and about at the time and it is extremely fortunate that nobody was injured as a result of his actions.

“It does not bear thinking about what could potentially have happened if someone had been stood near the lamppost which he hit.

“This standard of driving is completely unacceptable and I would urge all drivers to think carefully about their behaviour and the consequences of their actions before getting behind the wheel of a car.”