A PROLIFIC teenage burglar and car thief has been sent back to prison for his part in an crime in which he was nearly run over.

Amar Majid, of Marton Road, Middlesbrough, was involved in a high-speed chase on the A19 in a car he helped to steal from a house in Billingham.

The 17-year-old, who has a list of offences for home burglaries and taking cars, pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court to burglary and taking a Peugeot.

Majid was a passenger in the car, which was flipped and mangled in the incident on January 9, after it was chased by the owner's boyfriend.

The couple in the house on Blake Close, Billingham, had gone to bed at about 11pm before they heard the sound of breaking class.

The man got dressed, ran downstairs and chased his wife's stolen car towards the A19 in his own BMW.

The occupants of the stolen vehicle threw items out of the car at him, including the headrests and CDs.

The two cars passed a couple, who thought they were boy racers, before they collided and spun.

Majid got out of the car and was almost run down by a passing vehicle.

The court heard how Majid had a string of similar offences over the last two years.

Majid, who received a three-year criminal anti-social behaviour order last year, has been identified in a Middlesbrough scheme to highlight the town's top 20 prolific and other priority offenders.

In mitigation, John Constable, said Majid had suffered a difficult up-bringing and poor schooling.

He said: "He is a young man who comes from an appalling set of circumstances. He was abandoned by his parents."

Mr Constable said custody had previously not worked and placing him on a community rehabilitation order might address his issues.

He added: "He realises he could have been killed. He thought he needed to chill out and get away from this conduct of the past."

Judge Tony Briggs said he gave the court "a significant sentencing problem".

He added: "I regret that custody is unavoidable."

Majid was given an 18-month detention and training order and disqualified from driving for three years.