A motorist who reached speeds of 130mph in a vain attempt to evade the police has been locked up after his shocking driving was shown to a judge.

Ryan Hall was told that he was ‘fortunate’ not to have killed someone as he continued to drive at 100mph despite having a blow-out of one of the tyres on his BMW as he raced along the A167.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 27-year-old managed to slip past a police Stinger in the village of Great Smeaton, between Northallerton and Darlington, by mounting the kerb and forcing his way through stationary traffic.

For more than four minutes Hall raced towards Darlington with up to four police vehicles in pursuit before coming off the A167 and losing control of the car in Croft-on-Tees.

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The footage from inside one of the police vehicles was shown to Recorder Simon Eckersley when the defendant appeared for sentence for dangerous driving after speeding off in his car which was bearing false registration plates.

A running commentary from a police officer described how Hall narrowly avoided a collision with a HGV as he reached speeds in excess of 130mph before losing one of his tyres as he approached the village.

The judge heard how the BMW veered off the A167 at the Croft Hotel before racing past the church along Monkend Terrace and coming to a shuddering halt in a ditch before he leapt from the car and tried to flee the scene by jumping into the River Tees.

The Northern Echo: Ryan HallRyan Hall (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

Hall, of Fairfax Road, Middleton St George, near Darlington, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and using a fraudulent document.

Peter Sabiston, mitigating, said the defendant accepted that his driving warranted a custodial sentence.

He said: “He accepts the manner of driving, obviously, it was all there to see.”

The judge sentenced Hall to nine months in prison for both offences.

He said: “This was an extremely serious offence of dangerous driving, a car in the wrong hands is akin to a potentially lethal weapon.

“As I have seen, the police pursuit involved four vehicles, a Stinger device and the lasted for four minutes.

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“You saw the police and reversed, mounted the kerb and then you threaded your way through a line of traffic.

“You travelled at points at 130mph which is more than twice the legal limit of 60mph on that road.”

Hall was also banned from driving for two years following his dangerous driving conviction.

The judge added: “It was just good luck or good fortune that you didn’t kill another driver, a pedestrian or even yourself.”