A MOTORIST who ruined a police officer's life and threatened his career by driving a car at him was jailed for five years yesterday.

The court had heard that Paul Sheridan, 23, maintained all his problems stemmed from eating Spam at school.

However, his defence counsel admitted his problems were likely to be more deep-rooted than that.

The judge also banned Sheridan from driving for seven years as well as jailing him.

Sheridan drove a Volvo car at an on-duty detective constable, striking him with the vehicle and seriously injuring him.

Brian Todd, 34, had held up his warrant card and shouted at the driver to stop, but the car crept forward until it was almost touching his legs.

The policeman told the High Court in Edinburgh: ''He then accelerated hard and drove at me. He floored the accelerator.''

The detective said that he tried to avoid the car, but was caught by its wing and thrown on to the bonnet where he struck his head and arm.

He tried to cling on as Sheridan picked up speed but his grip on the windscreen wiper loosened and he was thrown off.

The court heard that after the attack on February 12 last year the victim felt ''sick and dizzy'' shortly afterwards and had since suffered about 30 blackouts.

He had to undergo tests at a hospital clinical neuroscience department and has to take a cocktail of drugs to stablilise his condition.

The officer also suffers severe headaches and has been able to return only to police administrative duties as a police constable on a part-time basis.

He told the court: ''If my condition doesn't get better, I don't have a career in the police.''

The policeman said he also had to give up football, badminton and horseriding and his family found him to be irritable now.

He had been part of a team of officers carrying out a criminal investigation at lock-up garages in Gylemuir Road, in Edinburgh, when Sheridan carried out the attack.

Sheridan, of Fortune Avenue, Haddington, in East Lothian, was originally charged with attempting to murder the policeman.

However, a jury convicted him of a reduced charge of assaulting Mr Todd to his severe injury, impairment and to the danger of his life by driving the car at him and striking him with it.

Sheridan was also convicted of dangerous driving and forcing a police driver off of a single track road to avoid a crash with his Volvo.

Sentence was deferred in the case until yesterday.

Defence counsel Murdo MacLeod said that in a background report on Sheridan he had maintained to a social worker that ''a Spam-eating incident'' was the start of his problems.

Mr MacLeod said: '' I am told by the accused that he was brought up in a kosher household and unwittingly was served and ate Spam at school.''

''When he was told what Spam was he felt he had committed a great sin.''

Mr MacLeod added: ''However it is clear to me that his problems are much more deep-rooted than that.''

Sheridan had revealed that he had been a victim of abuse and a psychiatrist said he may have been in the early stages of a mental illness when he committed the offence.

The accused, who held strong religious beliefs, was genuinely remorseful for his actions.

Mr MacLeod stressed the case involved ''a very unusual accused with unusual personal circumstances'' and urged temporary Judge Robin McEwan QC to consider a non-custodial disposal.

However, Mr McEwan said: ''It is inappropriate in my view to impose anything other than a substantial custodial sentence.''

''This young police man has had his life blighted and ruined and his continuing career as a useful police officer seriously threatened by this wanton driving of a motor car at him.''

q Spam gets its name from its main ingredients, shoulder pork and ham. Pig meat is strictly forbidden under Jewish dietary laws.