A CONVICTED drug dealer is back behind bars after taking police on a high-speed chase in a stolen car.

Bronson Robinson was picked up by police after he left traces of his DNA on the airbag inside the Volkswagen Golf after he lost control and crashed into a lamppost and bus stop.

The 28-year-old was one of four people in the car who managed to flee the scene in Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, on March 2 last year.

Teesside Crown Court heard how he sped away from an unmarked police car after he was spotted driving around in the stolen car at about 8.30pm.

Jonathan Harley, prosecuting, said Robinson had been recalled on licence following the accident and appeared in court via a prison videolink.

He said the during pursuit, which reached speeds of more than 80mph in a 40mph zone, Robinson carried out a number of dangerous manoeuvres, including speeding through three sets of traffic lights whilst they were on red and driving around a roundabout on the wrong side of the road.

Mr Harley said: "At one point the officer considered the pursuit was so dangerous that she considered abandoning it but decided to slow down instead.

"The driver of the car then seemed to lose control and crashed into a lamppost and bus stop – four people got out and ran away.

"It was DNA of the defendant which was found on the airbag that resulted in his arrest."

Robinson, formerly of Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.

In mitigation, Adam Birkby said his client was unaware that the car he was driving was stolen until he saw the reaction of his friends when the police pursuit started.

He said: "He accepts it was a dreadful piece of driving – it involved other road users and a police pursuit.

"He didn't realise when he got in the car it was stolen but he did realise by the way his friends reacted.

"He panicked and drove away.He was arrested for what happened and thankfully no one was hurt.

"In March, he was recalled on licence and could be released, depending on the parole board, on May 5 2021."

The father-of-two was jailed for five years in 2014 for his role in a gang who were involved on supplying Class A drugs across Teesside and Darlington.

Judge Howard Crowson jailed Robinson for 12 months for each offence to run concurrently with the sentence he is already serving.

The judge told the defendant that he was "lucky that no one else was injured during the pursuit".

He added: "Other road users heard the police were coming and pulled over to the side. It is no credit to you, it is a credit to the police that no-one was hurt."

Robinson was also disqualified from driving for three years and was ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge.