A MOTORCYCLIST who failed to stop for police after she was spotted driving without a helmet has been cleared of dangerous driving.

Emma Murray was spotted by patrol officers in Gallsworthy Road, South Shields and sparked an eight-minute police chase through a built-up area.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that when officers finally stopped her, they could smell alcohol. She was found to be over the legal limit.

The 26-year-old care assistant admitted careless driving, driving with excess alcohol and failing to stop when required.

The Crown Prosecution Service said that her driving had been dangerous, but she was acquitted by a jury, which accepted her admission of careless driving.

Murray, of, Whitehall Street, South Shields, was fined £400 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Judge Denis Orde told her: "It was a foolish and dangerous thing to do, to go on to the road that night and to drive the way you did."

Murray's barrister, Stan Anderson, said she was extremely sorry for what had happened and had learned her lesson.