A 21-YEAR-OLD who was killed when he lost control of a stolen car had been banned from driving only weeks earlier after a 125mph police chase, The Northern Echo can reveal.

David Nowlin died when the Vauxhall Nova he was driving skidded off the road and hit a mail box.

The accident happened less than a month after Teesside Crown Court disqualified him from driving for three years following a high-speed police chase.

The court heard how Nowlin, who lived in Brinkburn Avenue, Darlington, sped off in his powerful BMW after he left a petrol station owing 28p.

When police gave chase, he reached 90mph through the Haughton area of the town where the speed limit is 30mph.

In a bid to shake off the pursuing patrol car, he drove the BMW through red traffic lights and on the wrong side of the road.

Officers in the police car clocked Nowlin's BMW at 125mph as it raced along the A66 dual carriageway.

The chase continued on country lanes towards Norton, in Cleveland, and he was only caught when the car broke down.

Nowlin, who claimed he did not realise the car pursuing him was a police vehicle, admitted dangerous driving, driving with no insurance and driving a car in a dangerous condition.

He was disqualified for three years, given a 100-hour community service order and required to attended a rehabilitation programme.

Yet on Thursday evening, he was back behind the wheel of a car in a drive that ended in tragedy. Police said the car - a small Vauxhall Nova that was a far cry from Mr Nowlin's own BMW - had been taken from a Darlington street earlier in the night. As the vehicle rounded a bend in the town, Nowlin lost control and crashed.

There was no other vehicle involved in the accident which happened at 9.10pm near to the Gardeners Barn garden centre, in Cleveland Street.

A Durham Police spokesman said: "The car was negotiating an uphill left-hand bend into Cleveland Street when it left the road and collided with a Royal Mail post box."

He stressed that there were no police cars in the area at the time and Nowlin was not being pursued.

Yesterday, Nowlin's family, who live in Brinkburn Avenue, were too upset to talk about the accident.

Two other young men were hurt in Thursday's crash.

A 20-year-old passenger in the Nova, who is also from Darlington but has not been named by police, sustained multiple cuts and bruises and a punctured right lung.

The 17-year-old back-seat passenger, from Newton Aycliffe, sustained head injuries.

They are both being treated in Darlington Memorial Hospital where their condition is not thought to be life threatening.

Police accident investigators were at the scene of the crash yesterday and are now appealing for witnesses to get in touch.

A police spokesman said: "It is very important to build up a picture of the vehicle's movements.

"We would like any one who saw the car to get in touch."

Anyone with information should call 0191-386 4929.