A DANGER driver who led police on a 100mph chase is behind bars after a judge said he could have killed somebody during his 20 minutes of mayhem.

Factory worker Ryan Dale stole a car from North Yorkshire and was spotted hours later by police in Darlington in the Volvo V40, Teesside Crown Court was told.

The 21-year-old was in the midst of an inexplicable three-year crime-spree after having never been in trouble before, his barrister told the court on Friday.

Dale, of Poplar View, Norton, North Yorkshire, was jailed for 18 months after he admitted aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving and having no insurance.

The judge, Recorder Tim Roberts, QC, told him: “You put in serious jeopardy and, indeed, the lives of road-users around Darlington and Croft.”

The court heard how Dale raced at speeds of up to 117mph on the A167 on the outskirts of Darlington to try to escape the pursuing patrol cars in February.

He twice tried to ram the police vehicle, and the ten-mile chase came to an end when he clipped the side of the police car and “disintegrated” a wing mirror.

During the drama, Dale sped around Harris Street, Estoril Road, Geneva Road, and Neasham Road in Darlington before heading towards the A66 dual-carriageway.

He had stolen the car from Malton in North Yorkshire after the owner had started it up on his drive and left the engine running to clear it of frost.

Usma Khan, mitigating, told the court that Dale had been living a transient lifestyle during his offending, and said: “He could not have been more stupid.”

The court heard how he had been living in his car, and was once prosecuted for drink-driving when he was found by police drunk inside the vehicle.

Miss Khan said: “He was desperate ... and he accepts he didn’t want to be caught by the police, and concedes he made every effort to evade them. There us absolutely no justification that he can put forward for the offence ... but he would say he didn’t deliberately drive towards the officers.”

Mr Recorder Roberts told him: “You showed a total disregard for the lives of children who would be coming out of school at three o’clock that afternoon.

“You showed total disregard for the parents who would be on these busy roads. You were thinking only of yourself. It was reckless, dangerous and potentially fatal.