A DRUGGED up motorist took police on a high speed chase along a 20-mile stretch of the A19.

Thomas Orpen reached speeds in excess of 120mph after he sped away from police after initially pulling over for officers near Thirsk.

Teesside Crown Court watched footage of the chase until the VW Golf Orpen was driving was stopped by a stinger as he reached the outskirts of Teesside, on March 5 this year.

The 30-year-old, of Petch Close, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to dangerous, driving under the influence of drugs and driving without insurance.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said the police chase, which lasted around 20 minutes, took place at around 4.30pm on a Friday.

Tom Bennett, in mitigation, said his client was fully aware that he was facing a custodial sentence.

Recorder Christopher Knox jailed Orpen for six months custody and banned him from driving for three years.

He said: "It's quite clear to me that you were travelling at least a 100mph, fortunately, no one ran into you and you didn't run into anyone else.

"It was a busy road on a Friday afternoon, the police arranged for a Stinger to be put across the road and you tried to evade that and drove very dangerously in relation to that even though you had already had your tyres punctured."

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054