A MOTORCYCLIST who led a police car and two helicopters on a chase across three counties at speeds of up to 136mph has escaped a prison sentence.

Dean Devitt, 36, of Arlington Drive, Old Marston, Oxford, appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court after previously pleading guilty to dangerous driving while riding from Crawley in Surrey to Oxford on August 1.

Devitt was followed by Surrey traffic officers for 22 miles after he overtook their car at 124mph on the M25 near Reigate.

A Surrey police helicopter then followed Devitt as he rode at speeds of between 100mph and 136mph, undertaking cars, using aggressive hand gestures and flashing other motorists with his lights.

A Thames Valley Police helicopter took over the final stage of the 80-mile pursuit as Devitt cut across a lorry and a car on the M25 at the last moment to join the A40 at junction 8.

At one point the helicopter pilot could be heard saying: "He has just gone past at an extremely high speed, I am having trouble keeping up with him."

He continued to speed through roadworks and a temporary 30mph restriction before arriving at his home, where he was arrested.

He was sentenced to 80 days in prison suspended for two years, ordered to do 240 hours' community service and banned from driving for three years. He was also ordered to pay £43 costs.

Devitt was told he could have been given a six-month prison sentence, but that the sentence had been reduced to 80 days because of the circumstances - an early guilty plea and the fact he had no previous convictions.

In mitigation, defence solicitor Julian Richards had told the court that, after getting into £60,000 worth of debt, Devitt, originally from South Africa, had filed for bankruptcy the day before the high-speed pursuit.

He said Devitt was riding back to Oxford on his blue Kawasaki ZX 636 motorbike after completing two journeys in a van moving furniture to his new home in Marston.

Mr Richards said: "He did have a long day and he was emotionally drained from what had happened that day and the day before with his bankruptcy. He was stressed and emotional and not in the best state to drive. He just wanted to get home to his house to relax.

"The roads were not particularly busy, visibility on a summer's evening is relatively good and the road was dry. Clearly there were a few occasions during the journey where the standard fell below that of a competent driver. This is dangerous driving because of the speed, but the driving itself was not so bad it would be dangerous."

Mr Richards said Devitt did not see the car or the helicopters following him and refuted the suggestion that he had made aggressive hand gestures towards other motorists.