car and leading Police on a high speed chase while on day leave from the Prison Farm.

Joseph Moniz Lima, 35, was jailed on Friday for a similar offence in August of last year.

Magistrates' Court heard that at 6 p.m. on January 7 a woman parked her car on Richmond Road in Pembroke and left her keys in the glove box.

When she returned at 8 p.m., she found her car missing and called Police.

At 1.09 a.m. on January 8, Police were travelling west along Front Street when they saw a car double parked outside the Oasis Night Club with an occupant in the driver's seat.

Further investigation by Police revealed that the car had been reported stolen so they turned around and approached the vehicle from behind.

Lima pulled away as Police approached and did not stop when signalled to.

Police pursued Lima in the stolen car down Front Street, along East Broadway, up Berry Hill Road and down Point Finger Road and into the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital's property.

Police intended to trap Lima in the car park but he managed to escape back on to Berry Hill Road and at times was travelling at speeds up to 80 kilometres per hour.

Lima headed south down Tee Street, where he threw a beer bottle out of the window, and, without stopping, turned left onto South Road.

Police followed him at speeds up to 100 kilometres per hour as he overtook cars on blind bends and forced east bound traffic to swerve out of his way.

As he approached McGall's Hill, the car Lima was driving went into a rear wheel skid and then into a four wheel skid and eventually hit the roadside wall.

The collision caused extensive damage to the car and Lima was taken to the hospital with a fractured hip, cuts and lacerations.

When later interviewed by Police at KEMH, Lima said he was on day leave from the Prison Farm when he relapsed, got drunk and blacked out.

He said he did not remember anything.

Lima, who is still recovering from injuries sustained on the night in question, appeared in Magistrates' Court on crutches yesterday and firstly apologised for his behaviour.

He said he has a serious drinking problem and that when he drinks, he blacks out and remembers nothing the next day.

Lima said he could have killed himself and spent ten weeks in KEMH and four days in the Intensive Care Unit with a broken hip and collapsed lungs.

He also said that he intended to get help from prison counsellors and had been attending alcoholics anonymous meetings.

Mr. Warner told him that he could have killed someone else.

Lima has been incarcerated since August of last year when he was sentenced to nine months for a similar offence.

Mr. Warner said he had been afforded every opportunity to receive help from counselling and work release, but had proved that he was not fit to be a member of society.

Lima was then sentenced to twelve months in prison from yesterday's date, with a recommendation that he be given assistance to rehabilitate and fight his alcohol problem.