Woman spared prison after leading police car on chase

Magistrates heard how Lindsay Anne Raine, 23, committed a number of driving offences after refusing to stop for police.

Police spotted a Vauxhall Corsa being driven on Deepdale Road without headlights at 5.30am, said Jonathan Bambro, prosecuting, who showed the court a police video of the chase.

During the chase, he said the Corsa:

* reached 47mph in a 30mph zone

* veered on to the wrong side of the road

* clipped a garden wall

* mounted the pavement.

When the car finally stopped on Willow Road, officers found Raine sitting on a passenger in the rear of the car.

When they removed her from the vehicle, she struggled with officers and ran off.

Mr Bambro said: "The three passengers were said to be shaken and shocked.

"The female in the passenger seat had pulled on the handbrake to stop the car.

"She didn't stop even though the occupants were shouting at her to stop."

Alan Green, mitigating, told Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court that his client suffered from panic attacks, and panicked when she saw police because she had no insurance.

Mr Green said when police got her out of the vehicle they manhandled her, which caused her to panic even more and run away.

Her friends had been drinking and so she had driven to prevent them driving, he said.

Mr Green added: "It seems to me it's not the worst example of dangerous driving.

"Not just in terms of speed, but in terms of distance of travel and more importantly, there were very few cars on the road."

The chairman of the bench, John Robinson, sentenced Raine, of Gurney Stret, Darlington, to three months imprisonment for dangerous driving, which was suspended for one year.

She was also ordered to complete a 12-month supervision programme and was disqualified from driving for three years.

She was also fined £50 for failing to stop and £150 for driving without insurance on September 10 last year and was ordered to pay £43 costs.