A MAN'S "lost temper" will end up hitting him hard in the pocket after he stuck up for his cousin because he believed her boyfriend was treating her badly.

Tom Higgins exchanged a "flurry" of text messages with the other man before turning up on his doorstep in the early hours of the morning in his Ford Transit van.

After being woken by the sound of breaking glass, the victim, a friend and his mother went into the street and Higgins mounted the pavement and drove at them.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the usually calm 22-year-old crashed into the woman's Volkswagen Golf and wrote it off, and pinned the three people against a wall.

Paul Cleasby, mitigating, said: "He is a man who is used to dealing with pressure situations at work, used to dealing with aggressive contractors.

"He handles situations well and is very well thought of by all the people who come into contact with him when he is working hard. He has let himself down by losing his temper."

The drama happened in Christopher Street, Hartlepool, at 1.45am on November 22, and one onlooker told how she was "horrified" to see the van drive at the people.

Higgins, of Greenwood Walk, Hartlepool, admitted dangerous driving and was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence, and fined £2,500 with £340 costs.

Mr Cleasby said after a conviction for drink-driving in 2016, Higgins's insurance premiums rocketed to £5,000 and once he has served his latest two-year ban and taken an extended test, they will be £15,000 a year.

He travels the country through his work, but will now have the added expense of use public transport and pay for overnight stays.