A CAR thief was chased by the vehicle's owner before being apprehended by a group of farm workers, a court was told yesterday.

Daniel Warren, 21, found the Toyota pick-up parked in Stillington Road, Easingwold, with the keys in the ignition shortly before midday on Wednesday. Its owner had called at a nearby shop to buy a sandwich and realised the vehicle had been stolen when he heard shouting.

He got into a van driven by a friend, while another onlooker gave chase in a Volkswagen Golf. They caught up with Warren further down Stillington Road and followed him towards Crayke.

Northallerton Magistrates' Court heard that during the pursuit, the Golf forced Warren on to the grass verge and he crashed into it when he swerved back on to the road.

Warren turned off into a field and fled when the vehicle got stuck in a ditch. He was stopped by four farm workers and arrested when police arrived.

Warren, of Fairfield Road, Bridlington, East Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, careless driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

In mitigation, Peter Furness said: "He took the vehicle on the spur of the moment.

"He has panicked because he didn't know what was going to happen to him if he stopped. He was quite pleased to see the police and quite relieved to be arrested."

Magistrates adjourned the case for an all-options pre-sentence report. Warren was remanded in custody.