A motorist who failed to stop after colliding with a lorry and carried on driving his smashed-up car at speeds of up to 90mph has been spared jail.
Michael McCluskey continued for more than 40 miles on a motorway despite extensive damage to his grey Vauxhall Insignia, including a smashed windscreen, caved-in roof and severe dents.
The car had also been running on a skinny space-saving spare wheel because of a puncture the previous day and was not supposed to be driven at more than 50mph.
Several concerned motorists had dialled 999 after seeing the condition of McCluskey's vehicle on the northbound carriageway of the M5 on 30 May.
In court, his own defence lawyer said he had driven in "an absurdly foolish way".
McCluskey was eventually stopped by police close to junction five at Droitwich in Worcestershire.
They recorded him in the outside and middle lanes driving at speeds of up to 90mph, Gloucester Crown Court heard.
The father-of-two told police that after the collision near Gloucester he had stopped to fill up with fuel before continuing his journey home to Birmingham from Weston-super-Mare.
Prosecutor Timothy Hills said: "He was asked if he knew that it was a legal requirement to stop at the scene of an accident and exchange details and he said he didn't know.
"He did agree the car was in a dangerous condition."
At an earlier hearing, McCluskey of Oddingley Road, West Heath, Birmingham, admitted charges of driving dangerously and failing to stop after an accident.
Graham Russell, defending, said: "He has two young children and he is the breadwinner of the household.
"He has put his lifestyle in jeopardy by his extremely foolish and risky actions."
Recorder Jeremy Wright handed McCluskey a 10-month prison sentence suspended for two years, ordered him to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and pay court costs of £350.
He was also banned from driving for 18 months.
The judge told him: "This was dangerous driving over a sustained period of time when you could have stopped at any time."
He said he had suspended the sentence because of the impact sending McCluskey to jail would have on his family.
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