A DRUG driver who took police on a high-speed chase in a stolen car after going on a 'bender' has been told to grown up by a judge.

Anthony Teasdale had taken a cocktail of cocaine and cannabis before driving around the roads in the stolen £21,000 Citroen DS3.

The 33-year-old’s dangerous driving came to a grinding halt when he got the car stuck as he tried to flee the pursuing police, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jon Harley, prosecuting, said the defendant sped off when the police spotted him driving near the fire station in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, on October 24 last year.

Teasdale reached speeds in excess of 70mph in a 30mph zone, drove through two red traffic lights and mounted the pavement as he tore around east Middlesbrough.

“He made a sharp turn onto a road called The Avenue and then onto a footpath between a flatbed vehicle and a fence,” Mr Harley said. “At that point, the vehicle came to a stop and the officer got out of his vehicle.

“Members of the public were pointing towards the car and the officer saw the defendant getting out of the door but he had to climb out of the door onto the roof as the gap between the car and hedge was so tight.”

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Mr Harley said the defendant was arrested following a foot chase through residential gardens.

Teasdale, of Shinwell Crescent, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving over the proscribed limit for cocaine and cannabis, handling stolen goods, driving without insurance, and driving without a licence.

The court heard the father-of-three told probation officers that he was ‘ashamed’ of his actions and had gone on a ‘bender’ after missing out on seeing his children.

Emma William, in mitigation, added that her client’s relationship had ended when his partner learned of his impending court case for the offences.

Judge Jonathan Carroll sentenced Teasdale to 14 months in custody, suspended for two years telling him that – ‘I just don’t accept that you didn’t know it was stolen, you are just trying to pull the wool over our eyes’.

He said: “What you did was plain stupid, the police having cause to stop you, knowing the car was stolen, you drove off at speed through a red light. You knew it was the police, you say you panicked but what you actually did was, not just yourself, you put everybody at risk.

“At 70mph in a 30mph zone, if you had hit somebody, you would have killed them. That’s why these offences are so serious, you are messing around with other people’s lives.”

Teasdale was also ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and attend 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was also banned for three years and placed on a three-month electronically tagged curfew.

Judge Carroll added: “I don’t know why you weren’t allowed to have contact with your daughters that weekend, do you know what – stuff happens, it doesn’t all revolve around you.

“Your response was frankly immature, you couldn’t see you kids so you went on a bender of alcohol and drugs. That meant you were in no fit state to be behind the wheel of that motor vehicle.

“In your probation report you showed the mindset of an adolescent teenager, you are a 33-year-old man and you have to start taking responsibility for your actions and the impact it has on others.”

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