Speeding has been a major talking point in the North-East lately.

Concerns are continuing to be raised by our readers about the Darlington police officer revealed last week to have driven up the A1 at 140 miles per hour to demonstrate to a prisoner how fast his car could go.

Although he has been disciplined, he has not faced criminal charges on the grounds that he was an advanced police driver, and we await the conclusions of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Today, our front page is dominated by the case of two young men who drove up the A19 in North Yorkshire at speeds of up to 144mph.

Magistrates described Daniel Scott Richardson, 21, and James Burrows, 26, as "adolescent, selfish and dangerous" with warnings from police that their appalling driving could have had catastrophic consequences.

Indeed, it is terrifying to think what could have happened as they sped in close proximity to each other on a dual carriageway at midday on a Saturday. It makes my blood boil to think that my loved ones could have been unlucky enough to be killed by such idiocy.

The men have been banned from driving for three years and given suspended prison sentences. They must also carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and were fined £145 each. They are lucky to still have their freedom, let alone their lives.

It is to be hoped that others see the case as a warning - and that the guilty pair grow up before they get behind a wheel again.