A YOUNG father-to-be was killed during a police pursuit when the car he was driving collided with a bus.

Andrew Craggs, 20, was at the wheel of his Vauxhall Cavalier when police in a patrol car tried to stop him.

The unlicensed driver, who had been stopped earlier the same day, refused to pull over and crashed his car head-on into a bus in Walker, Newcastle, on Saturday evening.

Mr Craggs was killed instantly and one of his passengers fled the scene. The third occupant of the car was arrested and was yesterday helping police with their inquiries.

The driver, who was the only occupant of the bus, was released from Newcastle General Hospital after treatment for shock.

Mr Craggs' father, Terry, admitted his son had spent much of his life in prison and had first been arrested at the age of ten when he stole a funeral car.

But he said his son had vowed never to return there after discovering he was about to become a dad.

Mr Craggs' girlfriend, Caroline Thompson, 18, is expected their baby at the end of November and was being consoled by his family at their home in Walker.

Mr Craggs Snr, a 50-year-old motor mechanic, said: "Andrew had been in trouble with the police for most of his life.

"He has spent a lot of his time in detention and we have seen little of him in recent years.

"But he had been out for six months, which is the longest stretch without getting into trouble he has had.

"He had decided to change his life because he was about to become a father.

"The baby will be my first grandchild but will never know his or her dad and that is the biggest tragedy of all."

Mr Craggs has broken the news to his four sons Terry, 28, Peter, 27, and twins Mark and Philip, 18, all of whom are in prison.

The Police Complaints Authority has launched an investigation.