A FUGITIVE hid in the car park of a luxury hotel after making off from police down the M4 then ditching his Mercedes at Junction 16.

Elson Kastrati then failed to answer his bail at the crown court in March. He went on the run for eight months before being caught by police in London.

The 20-year-old was jailed for 13 months at Swindon Crown Court on Monday. The Albanian national, whose asylum claim was rejected by the UK, stands to be deported after serving his sentence.

Prosecutor Ellen Mcanaw told the court Kastrati had undertaken an unmarked police car on the M4 eastbound between junctions 17 and 16 on February 19, 2020.

The officer illuminated his car’s blue lights and Kastrati, driving a 63-plate Mercedes A180, pulled into the hard shoulder.

Dash cam footage from the police car showed the officer going over to talk to Kastrati through the passenger side window. But the Mercedes driver sped off, pulling into lane one and causing another motorist to have to brake hard to avoid crashing into the young man.

The officer hit speeds of almost 100mph in a bid to catch up with the expensive motor. The short pursuit came to an end when Kastrati barged into two cars at the top of the slip road off Junction 16. Together with his passenger he ditched the car and fled.

He was later found hiding in the car park of the Hilton hotel off Great Western Way.

The young man was bailed by the magistrates the following day but failed to turn up at his original plea hearing at Swindon Crown Court in March.

Kastrati, of Lower Clapton, east London, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance and failing to surrender to the court.

Gareth James, defending, said the dangerous driving had taken place over a relatively short distance and duration. His client had pleaded guilty on the first occasion the charges were put to him at the crown court.

Sentencing Kastrati to 12 months’ imprisonment for the dangerous driving and adding an extra month for the failing to surrender charge, Judge Jason Taylor QC said: “On the whole I take the view this is a medium culpability [case] but obviously aggravated by the collision and the fact you had a passenger.”

He was banned for a year, with the disqualification extended by 26 weeks. He must pass an extended retest if he wishes to drive again in the UK.