A “STUPID” man undertook an unmarked police motorbike before blasting past a cyclist at 110mph in his two-litre Honda Civic, a court heard.

Callum Emmerson, 23, was followed by the officer and clocked at a top speed of 126mph on the A41 between Chester and Whitchurch on May 2 this year.

Chester Magistrates Court heard on Monday (July 8) that he had been travelling home from work and was "excited" about an upcoming holiday.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.

Chair of the bench Andrew Merrill told him: “Well Mr Emmerson, what a stupid person you are. I would suggest one of the things you need to do is sell that car and get something less powerful.”

The defendant, who lives at Aston Road in Wem and works in Wrexham in IT, was first spotted by the officer at around 5.50pm.

The police motorbike had moved into lane two to allow a car to pull out of a lay-by but before it could move back across Emmerson had accelerated past on the inside.

He then sped up to around 90mph, followed by the officer, who observed him tailgating a BMW before overtaking, accelerating to 110mph past a cyclist and hitting 126mph.

Soon after the police motorcyclist activated his lights and stopped Emmerson, who reportedly said: “You’ve seen it. I’ve been an idiot. I’m sorry.”

In his police interview he said: “I got carried away. I was just about to go on holiday and I was very excited. I’m so, so sorry.”

Lisa Morris Jones, defending, said the offence had happened over a relatively short distance of 2.8 miles and her client was incredibly remorseful.

She told the court: “He’s genuinely remorseful on this matter. He’s been worried sick about the outcome of what’s happened. It was so completely out of character for him.”

As part of his suspended sentence he was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and must also pay £85 court costs and a £115 victim surcharge.

Emmerson was also banned from driving for 24 months.