A NOVICE driver who tried to outrun police because he was on the roads illegally was jailed for seven months.

Aiden McDonough, 20, was told: "When you get to prison, let others know that people who put the public at risk in police chases go away."

Judge Sean Morris described McDonough's driving as "appalling" after watching video footage taken from the pursuing patrol car in September.

Police tried to pull over the uninsured Vauxhall Astra in an alleyway near Haughton Road, Darlington, but McDonough took off at speed.

During a three-minute pursuit, he went through three red lights and around a roundabout the wrong way, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Harry Hadfield told the court the hatchback reached speeds of 49mph in a 30mph zone, and 80mph towards McMullen Road.

McDonough, of Westminster Road, Darlington, did not have a proper licence, and later claimed he had bought the car the previous day.

The chase went from Haughton Road to Russell Street, Valley Street, Eastmount Road, McMullen Road, Red Hall Drive and Ayresome Way.

McDonough jumped from the car as it was still moving, and it shunted a parked Peugeot into a garage door, Mr Hadfield told the court.

The driver fled and hid in a garden, but he gave himself away as he tried to take off his T-shirt and was spotted by a policewoman.

He immediately told the officer he did not have a licence and had taken cannabis earlier in the day, Mr Hadfield told Judge Morris.

The judge told McDonough, who was also banned from driving for 15 months: "Anyone who flees from police while doing their duty creates risk.

"I have watched the DVD of your driving. It was appalling. You were driving at speed in an incredibly narrow alleyway - the sort of place where children play.

"You went through three sets of red traffic lights, any of which somebody could have been coming the other way. An inexperienced driver who doesn't know how to react, and you could have killed them.

"I have seen you weaving between stationary traffic, avoiding colliding with other cars by a hairs breadth. If you had collided, you may have spun your car and the police would have been at risk.

"Any defendant who gets involved in a police chase must expect prison, because it puts the police at risk and there is too much of it."

Laurie Scott, mitigating, said McDonough's life was turned upside down last summer when he fell out with his best friend.

He had a fight with the other man, ended up before magistrates, started smoking cannabis and lost his job, Miss Scott told the court.

McDonough admitted dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen, having no licence and insurance and failing to stop after an accident.