A FUGITIVE paedophile led police on an 80mph car chase through Swindon in a bid to evade justice.

Brute Brian Fraser was wanted by the courts on allegations he planned to rape an eight-year-old girl – with the youngster’s dad complicit in arranging the meeting.

The 51-year-old spent five weeks swapping messages with what he thought was his victim’s father. In fact, it was an undercover police officer trawling the darker corners of the web in an effort to net potential sex offenders.

Fraser failed to appear before the courts to answer the child sex abuse allegations. He was only brought to court after a 22-mile chase through Wiltshire that saw Mini Cooper-driver Fraser avoid three stingers.

Now, he’s been jailed for four years and two months.

Swindon Crown Court heard that Fraser had been picked up after posting a message on online chatroom Chat Step in early January 2018 asking “any young girls I can use?”

Fraser – posing as a 43-year-old called Sean – struck up a conversation with another account. “Steve” – in fact an undercover police officer – claimed to be the father of two girls aged three and eight.

The conversation quickly became sexual and Fraser suggested he and Steve move their chat to a more private. Fraser attempted to arrange a meeting with Steve, appearing to suggest he wanted to abuse the older girl in woods, at a hotel or even at the family home.

This Is Wiltshire:

Brian Fraser Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

On January 9 Fraser cancelled the meeting, telling Steve he had thought about it and had too much to lose. But just one day later he appeared to change his mind, texting that he “wanted to play”, wished he was braver and asked that Steve stay in touch.

There followed a string of messages trying to fix a date for Fraser to meet Steve and his elder daughter.

In one missive Fraser claimed he had met a nine-year-old girl for sex. It was acknowledged by prosecutors that this was a lie. Judge Peter Crabtree said: “It was a fantasy on your part.”

When police arrested Fraser they found indecent images on his computer of children aged between 10 and 12.

This Is Wiltshire:

Police tail Fraser through Wroughton Picture: CPS

Fraser failed to appear before magistrates in April to answer charges. A day later police spotted a Mini Cooper registered to Fraser in the car park of the Orbital Asda. A constable tried to speak to him but Fraser reversed then sped off.

The ensuing chase lasted around 45 minutes as Fraser led police on a 22 mile tour through Swindon and north Wiltshire.

The Mini hit 80mph at points through Swindon and as he approached junction 16 Fraser went through a red light, forcing an HGV driver to carry out an emergency stop.

This Is Wiltshire:

Police attempt to pull Fraser from the Mini Picture: CPS

Fraser managed to keep going despite police deploying three stingers. One of the devices, which are designed to burst a car’s tyres, even dislodged another stinger that had got stuck beneath the car. Fraser was eventually boxed in by officers on Mill Lane, near Waitrose.

Fraser, formerly of Curtis Street, admitted attempting to arrange the commission of a child sexual offence, making indecent photographs of children and failing to stop and dangerous driving.

Peter Binder, defending, said his client had pleaded guilty at an early stage in the proceedings. He had previous convictions but the last dated back to 2005 and there were no sexual offences on his record.

The lawyer acknowledged his client’s driving had been disgraceful. But he added: “There is no suggestion that alcohol or drugs played a part in that course of driving. There was very little traffic about given the hour of the night. While speeds were excessive, they were not greatly so in cases of this nature.”

Jailing him for four years and two months, Judge Crabtree said: “A worrying feature of the pre-sentence report is that you failed in the face of the evidence to acknowledge any deviant sexual interest in children.”

He said of the dangerous driving: “It’s true that there was little traffic about and for some of the pursuit you travelled within the speed limit. But for much of it you did not.

“You came close to collision with other vehicles. You damaged two police vehicles in your effort to escape.

“It’s dangerous driving in my view of a relatively high order which easily exceeds the custody threshold.”

Fraser will be subject to a three-year driving ban upon his release from prison, a sexual harm prevention order that will run indefinitely and he must sign onto the sex offenders’ register for life.