A DRINK-DRIVER who reached speeds of 113mph during a police chase has been jailed for eight months.

John Lynch tore along the A1085 on Teesside and hit 70mph around housing estates as he tried to shake off his pursuer.

The 30-year-old would probably have been fined and banned from the roads for drink driving had he not raced off.

Instead, he is starting his first prison sentence for what his barrister described as "appalling and irrational behaviour".

The offshore scaffolder passed a police control car "at speed" on the road to Redcar just after 11pm on July 21, prosecutor Jenny Haigh told Teesside Crown Court.

The officer turned around and followed the VW Passat, which turned onto a filling station forecourt, but Lynch then sped off towards Grangetown.

He went through a red light at a roundabout near the A66 and headed for residential streets during the six-mile pursuit, said Miss Haigh.

The car was driven onto a grassy area before Lynch and his passenger jumped out and ran off – but he was found hiding in undergrowth.

When breathalysed, he had 52 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 35.

Peter Sabiston, mitigating, said Lynch – prosecuted in 2013 for driving with excess alcohol – had "a few pints" on a night out, and was giving a friend a lift home.

"He knew he was over the limit, so when the police vehicle changed direction, he panicked and drove in the manner depicted on the DVD," said Mr Sabiston.

"He was afraid he would be breathalysed, but he has made matters significantly worse for himself.

"He has lived with the prospect of coming to crown court for some months now. He is a scaffolder on the rigs, and has had to give it up waiting for his case to come to court.

"He has been employed as a groundworker in Darlington, with a building company, and hopes to go back on the rigs.

"He is facing a long disqualification and that will cause him enormous problems with his work. He needs to get a lift with his father every morning."

Mr Sabiston added: "He is ashamed. His contrition is genuine. He tells the court, through me, that this will never happen again - not just because of the danger he put others in, but he is fully aware that this could lead to his incarceration.

"There is no possible excuse for this behaviour. He simply behaved appallingly, irrationally and in panic."

Lynch, of East Farm Close, Middlesbrough, admitted dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol. He was also banned for three years and four months.

Judge Deborah Sherwin, who was shown dash-cam footage of the seven-minute pursuit, told him: "A number of other drivers were put at risk as a result of your driving."