TWO men who led five police cars and a helicopter on 13-mile low-speed chase in a stolen digger have admitted their parts in the incident.

Steven William Fluen, 22, of Middleton Street, Darlington. appeared at Northallerton Magistrates' Court yesterday, where he pleaded guilty to allowing himself to be carried in a vehicle that he knew had been stolen.

Liam Robert Coatman, 20, of Annandale, Darlington, has already pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, failing to stop, theft of the digger and driving without insurance. He will appear before magistrates in Northallerton to be sentenced on March 23.

The JCB was stolen from a building site next to Dalesway Lodge, at Scotch Corner, on the afternoon of Sunday, March 4.

Sam Rogers, prosecuting, told the court that a man who worked at the site recognised the digger as it was being driven along the road from Moulton to North Cowton.

He called the police and three cars initially began to follow the excavator, but as it approached Darlington, a further two cars and a police helicopter were called in.

Miss Rogers said: "Officers tried to stop the JCB, however didn't manage to do so. It was followed into Darlington and eventually stopped on the Victoria Embankment.

"Both Mr Fluen and Mr Coatman jumped out and ran in an attempt to escape, but both were located and arrested."

Miss Rogers said Coatman entered his guilty pleas on March 5.

She added: "No damage was caused to the JCB. It would appear from what Mr Coatman told officers that he had been given skeleton keys and offered several hundred pounds to steal the JCB for someone he wouldn't name."

Peter Furness, representing Fluen, did not give any mitigation.

Magistrates adjourned the case until March 30 for the preparation of pre-sentence reports.