This is the shocking moment the driver of a classic Ford Sierra goes drifting around three roundabouts in Essex.

The motorist can be seen pushing the back of the rear-wheel drive car out by spinning the rear wheels and using an armful of opposite lock to keep the car under control.

The death-defying video was recorded on Sutton Road in Southend on Sea.

This is the moment a Ford Sierra GLX sits at a roundabout in Southend-on-Sea waiting for traffic to pass before the driver dumps his clutch and spins the back wheels

The Sierra driver revved his engine before taking off to lose traction at the rear wheels allowing him to push out the back of the car and drift around the roundabout

Fellow motorist Jake Tripp filmed the incident on his mobile phone. He said he saw the Ford Sierra drive recklessly around six roundabouts in total. ,

Baffled at the driver's antics, the dad-of-two and his colleague decided to follow part of the vehicle's journey to see if he continued with his 'rally route'.

And though he was initially amused at the sight, Jake claims the motorist's antics were dangerous and careless.

Mr Tripp, 28, from Southend, said: 'We were going home from work and we'd gotten about two minutes down the road when we saw this guy going mad.

'As we drove up to the roundabout we could see he was twisting. He'd come back around and gone around the roundabout again.

'We decided just to follow to see if he did it again.

'No one was going into the roundabout because they didn't want to get in his way. It was like he was trying out to be the next Colin McRae.

'He must have done six roundabouts like that before we headed off.'

Mr Tripp claims he saw the mystery driver swerving round the roads for around ten minutes before he and his colleague headed home.

The driver is forced to steer the opposite day to the way he wants to travel to prevent his car from spinning out of control during his reckless stunt on Sutton Road in Southend

The shocking incident was filmed by father of two Jake Trapp who is from Southend

The Sierra performed the stunt at three different roundabouts along Sutton Road, Southend

The warehouse operator, said: 'We'd been following him for about five minutes before we decided to follow and film it.

'It had rained so the ground was wet – if that's what he was looking to do then that weather was perfect.

'I didn't see the driver at all. He was going around sideways too much so I couldn't see what he looked like.'

But with wet weather now well and truly set in, Jake says he wants to share this footage so that drivers can see the danger this kind of behaviour can pose for others on the road.

Mr Tripp said: 'We were joking that he must be off to prison the next day, he didn't care what he was doing. We did find it funny.

'But it is dangerous. On the second roundabout he looks as if he's going to come off at the junction. At the end of the video you see he nearly hits someone.

'There are kids out on the roads, if I had had my kids with me at the time I would have reacted differently.'

Mr Tripp did not report the incident to the police.