A PROLIFIC offender who led police on a chase in his friend’s 4x4 just days after being spared prison for a burglary is finally behind bars.

David Ryan, from Darlington, was jailed for nine months and banned from driving for four years for what a judge called “idiotic driving”.

The 44-year-old got a Ford Ranger stuck in mud after a midnight pursuit in the Cockerton area on April 10, a court was told.

After spinning the wheels for several minutes to try to get the vehicle free, Ryan was pulled from the driver’s seat by police officers.

He admitted dangerous driving and having no insurance at magistrates’ court and was sent to Teesside Crown Court to be sentenced.

Judge Sean Morris described his record as “appalling” and said: “I shudder to think how much you have cost the country with your representation and the amount of crimes you have committed.

“All that money spent on you has to come other needy resources. I’d like you to reflect on that.”

On March 31, Ryan was given a suspended prison sentence for burglary with intent to steal when he broke into a groundskeeper’s shed at Rockliffe Hall to take sand, cement, and wooden posts.

His lawyer, Andrew Turton, said he panicked when he saw the police lights on Deneside Road because he knew he was not insured to drive the Ford truck.

“He regrets his actions, and, unfortunately, caused the police the difficulty of pursuing and stopping him,” said Mr Turton.

“It was a relatively short chase, which does not appear to be high-speed in nature “

Prosecutor Peter Sabiston told the court that Ryan went onto the wrong side of the road at junctions, and lost control before ending up on the muddy grassed area.

Sentencing Ryan, of Oxford Street Mews, Judge Morris told him: “Instead of just stopping, you drove like an idiot. Any police chase creates danger.”