A MAN sparked a police chase through streets as young children played at the roadside.

Stephen Winthrop, 26, was spotted by officers speeding along High Lane Row, Hebburn, Tyneside, and accelerated when he realised that he was being followed.

Newcastle Crown Court was told how he drove into a cul-de-sac before making off on foot. Officers were unable to catch him, but one constable recognised him and he was quickly arrested at his home.

Winthrop, of Walsh Avenue, Hebburn, who has a string of convictions for house burglaries, drugs and theft, denied driving the car, but after a one-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court he was found guilty of dangerous driving.

He was fined £250 and disqualified from driving for 12 months, despite having no licence.

Judge Tony Lancaster told him: "You drove at high speed through a built-up area, which could have resulted in injury to any of the young children who happened to be in one of the streets at the time. Fortunately, it did not."