A van driver wrecked a pursuing police car when he reversed into it after crashing into another car, a court was told yesterday.

Geoffrey Bouttell, 23, ran from the scene in Middlesbrough town centre but was caught by the police car observer, said Nigel Wray, prosecuting.

Bouttell was trying to speed away from the police car with its blue lights flashing and sirens blaring when he drove straight into a junction and collided with a VW Passat.

The police patrol stopped five yards behind his Ford Transit but Bouttell suddenly reversed into their car, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Bouttell said that he was trying to escape in a panic and he did not deliberately ram them, said Dan Cordey, mitigating.

In the back of the Transit was a stolen motorcycle which Bouttell was transporting for a friend, who claimed to have bought it for £50.

Bouttell, of Eden Road, Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, was given a two-year community rehabilitation order with conditions that he attends a Think First and Cognitive Skills programmes, after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on March 20.

He was also disqualified for two years and ordered to pay £150 prosecution costs and to pass an extended driving test before applying for a licence.