An Eltham teen who hit 15 people while driving 69mph in a 30mph area has been jailed for 18 months.

Harlee Pendergast, 18, of Green Lane in Eltham, lost control of a black Mini One he was driving at meeting of gearheads in September 2016.

He lost control of his car after driving 69mph in a 30mph area and seriously injured four people, including one who was trapped under his car.

Pendergast and his auto-enthusiast group met at night in a car park to compare their modified cars at an estate in Medway.

Kent Police went to clear the group out after neighbours complained about the noise they were making.

Moments after two of the officers got out their vehicles to speak with a nearby crowd, Pendergast was seen speeding and swerving towards them.

The car then lost control and leapt into the air before colliding with 15 bystanders, one of whom was left trapped under the crashed car.

Despite driving in a 30mph zone, forensic evidence suggests that the Mini was driving at 69mph in the moments leading up to the collision.

As he got to around 20 metres away from the spectators, he was travelling at least 47mph.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and one count of withholding information to obtain motor insurance, as he had also failed to inform his insurance company with details of modifications he had made to his car.

He was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court yestereday, May 25, and will serve the time at a young offenders' institute.

Pendergast was also disqualified from driving for three years and will have to take an extended re-test.

Detective Constable David Holmes, the investigating officer for this case, said: "While we accept that Pendergast did not set out to seriously injure people, his reckless and indefensible behaviour put a large amount of people at risk of harm.

"He made a conscious decision to speed through the estate performing dangerous manoeuvres and clearly did not have any consideration for the wellbeing of those around them.

"It is extremely fortunate that those injured did not lose their lives that night."