A POLICE spotter plane came within seconds of disaster after a powerful light was shone into the cockpit - blinding the pilot, a court heard.

The beam was so bright that pilot Glenden Keeting had to abort the landing above Durham Tees Valley Airport, near Darlington.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the plane was then diverted to another job at about 11.30pm and headed away from the runway.

When it returned, the pilot spotted a number of vehicles parked in a lay-by underneath its flight path.

Kate Dodds, prosecuting, said the aircraft was once again "painted" by the bright light as it circled 1,000ft above the runway.

This time, the pilot saw that the light was coming from a car in the lay-by.

Miss Dodds said the vehicle left the lay-by and the plane tracked it until police stopped it and arrested the 38-year-old driver, Stephen Orr, on April 4.

She said the light was tracking the plane for about 20 seconds as it was approaching the runway, causing temporary blindness, making it necessary for the pilot to close his eyes for a number of seconds. She said this placed him and his crew in some danger.

Orr, of Wellbeck Street, Darlington, told police there was no malice in his actions - he just wanted to see how powerful the torch was.

Nigel Soppitt said in mitigation that Orr had bought the torch a few days before the incident and was sitting in his car when he heard the drone of the aircraft.

"Curiosity got the better of him and he pointed it in the air to find out what sort of plane it was," he said. "It was a moment of madness."

Judge David Bryant ordered him to carry out a 200- hour Community Punishment Order.

He said: "In any view, not only are you an idiot, but you are a dangerous idiot."

Orr, who pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft at an earlier hearing, will also pay £912 court costs.