A sex addict driver on the hunt for a prostitute nearly killed two police officers when he deliberately drove the wrong way down the A3 at night, with no headlights, in a desperate attempt to flee the police.

Otuo Abebrese, 30, from New Malden, had been disqualified from driving by Kingston magistrates less than a month ago.

But he told police he was a sex addict and, on the night of December 5, he had not been able to sleep and had decided to drive to find a prostitute in Shepherd's Bush.

At 11.30pm, a marked police car had tried to pull over a white BMW driven by Abebrese on the A3 southbound carriageway at Shannon's Corner.

Abebrese, however, refused to stop and sped up, swerving from lane to lane at speeds of more than 100mph to evade the police car.

Minutes later, at the Ripley bypass junction of the A3, Abebrese suddenly performed a u-turn and headed straight back towards the chasing police car, hitting it head on. He then carried on driving the wrong way along the A3, without headlights, forcing other drivers to swerve to avoid him.

A second police car, driven by PC Bassom and PC Gammampila, had been following the chase a few miles behind when the two police officers inside realised that Abebrese had appeared out of nowhere and was driving directly towards them at high speed.

PC Bassom swerved to avoid the BMW, missing it by a few inches, and the police car spun into the central reservation, leaving PC Bassom with a badly bruised leg.

Police officers later found the BMW stopped in the middle of the A3 with its headlights now on and engine running.

Police dog handlers sealed off the A3 and quickly found Abebrese, wearing a high visibility jacket and lying face-down in a ditch in a nearby wooded area. He claimed to have pulled a muscle while diving into the ditch to hide from police and was unable to move.

Detective Sergeant Simon Harding from Kingston police said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has stated that this is the worst case of dangerous driving they have ever seen. In court, the magistrates' faces dropped when the facts were read out and the lead magistrate said: I am disgusted. Get out of my sight!'"

At Kingston Magistrates' Court on December 7, Abebrese pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, having no insurance and having no MOT. He will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court in the new year.