A POLICE inspector has praised colleagues for helping to bring a dangerous teenage driver to book.

It follows a dangerous high-speed chase of unlicensed motorist Connor Dodds, who refused to stop in a Volkswagen Bora, pursued through Peterlee and Easington.

The car was spotted being driven at speed on Acre Rigg Road, Peterlee, on the afternoon of April 28.

Durham Crown Court, sitting in Newcastle, was told during the pursuit, the vehicle drove well in excess of the speed limit, on the wrong side of the road, across a playground and fields where members of the public were walking their dogs.

As a result of the efforts of traffic officers, the force bike section and Peterlee CID, the Bora was stopped with use of a stinger device in Easington.

Two men ran from the vehicle but were detained.

Dodds, 19, of Johnson Close, Peterlee, admitted dangerous driving, driving unlicensed and without insurance.

He was jailed for a year and banned from driving for three-and-a-half years.

Inspector Joanne Malkin, of the Peterlee response team, said: “This was a great bit of teamwork from all departments, including response, CID and the roads policing unit, who have worked together to take a dangerous driver off the road.

“We will not tolerate drivers who think they can flout the rules of the road and take advantage of the quieter roads during lockdown.”