A dangerous driver who reached 110mph during a police chase through residential areas has been locked up for almost two years after causing £18,000 worth of damage to a 4x4.

Keegan Hogg was behind the wheel of a stolen Land Rover Discovery when police spotted him driving through County Durham in convoy with another vehicle.

The officer turned around and followed the 4x4 as it left Tow Law along the A68 and headed towards Bishop Auckland, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said Hogg accelerated away and the pursuing police car activated its blue lights in an attempt to pull him over.

The 25-year-old raced through Toft Hill and West Auckland, regularly reaching speeds in excess of 90mph, before turning off onto a B-road where he eventually lost control of the vehicle and came to a halt.

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Miss Haigh said: “The defendant got out of the driver’s door, he ran towards a road, jumped over a brick wall into a pitch-black field. The officer followed, it was a very unstable, ploughed field, the officer lost his torch but eventually managed to apprehend the defendant.”

The defendant was charged with stealing the 4x4 or with driving it without the owner’s consent, the court heard.

The Northern Echo: Keegan Hogg. Picture: DURHAM CONSTABULARYKeegan Hogg. Picture: DURHAM CONSTABULARY

Hogg, of Ashcroft Gardens, Bishop Auckland, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

The defendant was also in breach of two suspended prison sentences, including one for possession of a bladed article, when he was arrested on June 26 this year.

Christopher Bevan, in mitigation, said his client accepted that an immediate custodial sentence was ‘inevitable’ as he realised how serious his offending was.

He added: “He tells me he is sorry for the offending, he failed to stop when saw the police car and panicked. He says his adrenaline kicked in to try and escape the police and it was panic.

“Of course, he realises that is no excuse for driving the way he did.”

And a judge described his driving was ‘shocking’ and as ‘shocking as it can get’ as he locked him up for just under two years.

Judge Jonathan Carroll said: “Your driving showed complete and utter disregard for any other road user or pedestrian who chanced upon you that day. It there but for the grace of God that you didn’t kill someone.

“That is the seriousness of this offence, this was a level of driving of driving where you could have killed yourself, the police officer pursuing you or any member of the public who happened to have the misfortune to be in the same area as you.”

Hogg was also banned from driving for a total of five years and 11 months.

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