A MAN who said voices in his head told him to drive the wrong way down the A303 to escape police was already banned from driving for causing a crash that killed his brother, a court heard.

Levi Wheatley admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance and possession of a knife on the A303 near Cholderton on June 27.

The 32-year old was sentenced to ten months in prison at Salisbury Crown Court on Thursday.

Wheatley, of Vinney Lane in Frome, received a seven-year driving ban in 2011 after a crash which killed his younger brother, and had received a community order for driving while disqualified in 2005.

Prosecuting, Andy Houston said police spotted Wheatley “at it again” driving a Vauxhall Astra on the A303 on the day in question and tried to pull him over.

One police car pulled in front of him while another drove behind him, both with lights flashing, to signal Wheatley to stop.

Mr Houston said Wheatley instead started to “swerve from lane to lane trying to get past the police car”, until one “made tactical contact” with his car causing him to pull up at the side of the road.

But when police left their cars to approach him, Wheatley reversed, turned in the road and drove off “the wrong way down the carriageway”.

Wheatley’s car was stopped with tactical contact for a second time by another police officer. A lock knife was then found in a door pocket.

Defending, Gemma White said the crash he caused in 2009, killing his brother, had a significant impact on his entire family and Wheatley had suffered “traumatic brain injuries” which have “impacted on his levels of aggression” and his mental health, including hearing voices.

“One of them takes the form of ‘Dave’, and Dave is the one who tells him to do bad things and ‘Trevor’ tries to stop him.”

Ms White said an argument with his girlfriend was “the trigger for his decision to drive home”.

But Judge Richard Parkes QC said there was “a bit of a lack of medical evidence” and said a probation report suggested Wheatley’s mental illnesses were “something he was using to manipulate the court”.

Sentencing, Judge Parkes said Wheatley displayed “behaviour of stunning stupidity, that could have caused loss of life” and that Wheatley’s previous suspended sentence had been “merciful”.

“I have heard a considerable amount about the consequences of that awful accident back in 2009 and I can quite believe it has caused you and your family untold suffering,” he said.

But Judge Parkes said he was “not clear how, if at all, [Wheatley’s] mental state has any particular bearing” on his actions.

“The fact is what you did is quite inexcusable and could have caused death and serious injury.”

“That just seems to be particularly extraordinary in the context of what you have done before and suggests to me that you have learned nothing.”

He sentenced Wheatley to a total of ten months in prison, but with time already served he will be released in late November.