AERIAL footage of the moment a police pursuit ended in a high-speed crash on the M606 was shown at an inquest yesterday.

Yasib Ali Mahboob died on December 18, 2017, after being pursued by officers in the early hours of the morning after failing to stop his vehicle.

The 34-year-old, of Whitby Avenue, Girlington, had been driving an Audi A4 which collided with the barrier on the bend on to the M62.

The jury at an inquest into his death, at Bradford Coroners’ Court, sitting at Bradford Crown Court, was yesterday shown footage from a thermal imaging camera taken from a police helicopter on the night of the fatal crash.

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The short clip began with the pursuit on Manchester Road and saw the Audi, driven by Mr Mahboob, pull away from the pursuing police vehicle as it joined the M606.

The jury saw the vehicle drift over to the left hand side as it reached the 50mph speed limit on the bend as the M606 filters on to the M62 westbound. What appears to be a “white” explosion is then seen as the car hits the barrier.

PC Wakes, who was in the helicopter and operating the camera at the time, told the inquest that the image was like a negative and that heat sources appeared white.

He added that their aim was to watch and follow the subject vehicle and that trained officers on the ground would be expected to bring the pursuit to a conclusion.

When questioned by Ian Mullarkey, for West Yorkshire Police, about the distance between the Audi and the lead pursuit vehicle, he added: “Yes you can see the gap gets bigger.”

The civilian supervisor at police control described how the officer in the lead pursuit vehicle had been “clear and calm” in his reports back over the radio.

She added that once the helicopter link went live and she could see footage herself, it was clear the lead car was backing off and the distance between the vehicles growing - which was standard procedure.

“It releases the pressure while waiting for the arrival of further TPAC vehicles before putting tactics in to play on the motorway,” she explained.

The inquest had previously heard that Mr Mahboob had failed to stop for police in the Heaton area and his vehicle was sighted shortly afterwards by officers on traffic duty near Toller Lane roundabout.

An officer trained in Tactical Pursuit and Containment (TPAC) was driving the marked police BMW in pursuit.

Tactical contact was used to try and bring the uninsured Audi to a stop, but Mr Mahboob continued towards the city centre.

The pursuit then continued through the city, up Manchester Road, on to Mayo Avenue and on to the M606.

Moments later Mr Mahboob’s vehicle crashed into the barrier, with an officer describing the Audi as being “split in half” with Mr Mahboob laying in the carriageway.

The spotter in the police helicopter overhead had reported there were heat sources, so a search of the banks around the crash site was carried out.

The inquest had previously heard Mr Mahboob had 72 documented injuries and was more than double the drink drive limit. There was also evidence of cocaine and cannabis use.

The jury inquest continues.