A man has been jailed for 15 months after driving a car half a mile down a railway track, causing passenger delays of up to eight hours.

Aaron O’Halloran’s “idiotic actions” on a stretch of track between Duddeston and Aston stations in Birmingham on 9 May, which were caught on CCTV, caused more than GBP23,000 worth of damage, British Transport Police (BTP) said.

A jury found the 32-year-old, from Handsworth, Birmingham, guilty of endangering people on the railway, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, and using a vehicle without insurance.

He was jailed for 15 months, disqualified from driving for two years, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of GBP156 at Birmingham crown court on 23 August.

BTP said the court was told that at about 7.30am on 9 May, O’Halloran drove the black Mitsubishi through a gate at Duddeston station and travelled half a mile down the railway tracks towards Aston.

In interview, O’Halloran refused to comment on the incident, but denied that he had been the one driving the vehicle when shown CCTV footage.

BTP said the car was abandoned across the tracks while O’Halloran fled the scene, but a mobile phone found by officers inside the car was traced back to him.

A video clip shared by BTP showed the vehicle driving along railway tracks past a station platform with its front number plate appearing to hang loose.

Det Insp Raymond Ascott said: “This was an immensely dangerous and senseless act by O’Halloran, which caused significant risk to passengers and damage to the railway.

“The sentence handed to him reflects the severity of this crime and we are thankful no one was injured as a result of O’Halloran’s alarming behaviour.

“He’ll now have plenty of time to reflect on his idiotic actions in prison.”