A HEROIN addict knocked over a cyclist and then drove off, leaving him in the road, a court heard.

John Briggs believed that his cousin, Graham Coggins, had sold his daughter's bike, which the defendant had lent him as a favour.

Spotting him on a different bike, he pursued him in his Vauxhall car and Mr Coggins was knocked over and suffered cuts and bruises.

Prosecuting, Martina Connolly told Teesside Crown Court that Mr Coggins, also a heroin addict, had tried to cycle away from Briggs.

The bike, which was the subject of the spat, had in fact been sold to pay for drugs, it later emerged.

Briggs, 28, of Brierton Lane, Hartlepool, was said to have an appalling criminal record, with offences of theft, vehicle taking and dishonesty.

Paul Newcombe, for Briggs, who admitted dangerous driving on August 23 last year, said he followed his cousin to quiz him over the bike, and accepted that his driving was not of the right standard.

Recorder Jim Muir accepted that Briggs had not deliberately struck Mr Coggins, but had driven dangerously.

Briggs, who is on a methadone programme, was sentenced to 160 hours community work and was banned from driving for a year.