A terrified mum told her children to "brace" themselves as her ex-boyfriend rammed and tailgated their car at speed.

The woman was said to have been left "distressed, intimidated and scared" by Callum Smith's dangerous 15-minute game of cat and mouse through Deal and Thanet.

“Aggressive” Smith drove his Vauxhall Astra into her Renault Megane three times, with the final impact causing one of her tyres to blow.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that just two hours earlier he had sent his former partner a text threatening: "I swear, contact me again, I'll smash your car to pieces."

The 22-year-old had initially "shadowed" her vehicle as she drove herself and the youngsters from a park in Deal on the afternoon of July 23.

At first she did not know who was at the wheel as Smith, who had bought the vehicle just two days earlier, did not hold a full driving licence.

The sun visor had also been pulled down to obscure his face and she knew he was subject to bail conditions banning him from approaching her, said prosecutor Ian Foinette.

He told the court that as she drove along, she noticed the silver car kept getting close behind her.

"She thought it might be the defendant and became concerned, although she didn't immediately recognise him," the prosecutor told the court.

"She was also worried because she had the children in the car with her. She tried to calm them down and calm herself down."

She continued on her journey, only for the Astra to keep overtaking her and then dropping behind again.

"He was shadowing her one way or another," said Mr Foinette.

Smith, of James Hall Gardens in Walmer, Deal, then rammed the Megane from the rear.

"She tried to accelerate away but by then she was very concerned about what was going on and instead of going right as she had intended, she went left and he drove up beside her," continued the prosecutor.

"She began braking and the defendant hit the back of her car again. As a result she told her sons to ‘brace’ themselves, braked again, and then accelerated to get away, driving up to 70mph."

But the pursuit continued onto the A299 towards Minster, with Smith approaching from behind in the outside lane with his headlights on and then driving into the side of the car as she slowed down at a roundabout.

"It forced her over to the left-hand side of the road and her front, offside tyre burst as a result," added the prosecutor.

The court heard several people came to the crying woman's aid and the police were called.

One eye-witness later described seeing a car at the roundabout "weaving at great speed", with the Astra cutting across in front of the Megane, and assumed it was a road-rage incident.

Having fled the scene, Smith sent the distraught mum a text saying she was "f****d" and lying that his grandfather had been with him in the Astra. He also branded her "a psycho", said Mr Foinette.

Police traced him to a McDonald's car park in Minster where his slurred speech led to a positive roadside test for cannabis. However, Smith refused to provide blood for further analysis once in custody.

The court heard the labourer, who has previous convictions for battery and using violence to gain entry, also blamed his ex-girlfriend for damaging his Astra by braking in front of him and repeatedly "smashing" into the car.

However, he later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop, failing to provide a specimen and driving without insurance. No charge resulted from him only having a provisional licence.

Kerry Waitt, defending, said Smith had caused "distress and danger" to his former partner, her children and to other road users.

But he added that despite the court order banning contact between the couple, there had been "an exchange of communication" between them and it was "no coincidence" that she had travelled from her home in Ramsgate that day to a park near his home.

Mr Waitt also refuted the prosecution suggestion that Smith's driving had been impaired by cannabis, telling the court he had smoked a joint after the incident while parked up at McDonald's.

Jailing Smith for 16 months and banning him from driving for three-and-a-half years, Judge Mark Weekes said his actions that day represented "some of the worst dangerous driving" he had seen.

"I say that not necessarily because of the speed and nature but because of the fact that within the car itself were children," he told Smith.

"One can only imagine just how terrifying it must have been for them to have an aggressive man such as you driving and ramming into the back of the vehicle over some 15 minutes and at speed.

"It frankly takes the court's breath away and it is something of a mercy you are not facing more significantly serious charges.

"It was a prolonged, persistent and deliberate course of dangerous driving and, in a domestic violence context, a blatant example of an attempt to control and coerce."