A DRINK-driver sped through a built-up area at up to 70mph in a bid to shake of a patrol car, a court heard.

Craig Wilkins, 22, careered on to the wrong side of the road before crashing into an embankment, said prosecutor Ann Mitchell.

She told Teesside magistrates yesterday that police tried to flag down Wilkins in Middlesbrough because his Vauxhall Cavalier had a faulty light, but he raced off.

Wilkins, of Edward Street, Eston, near Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, and driving while more than double the allowed alcohol limit, on April 4.

He also admitted driving without a licence, insurance or a test certificate.

He was jailed for 20 months and banned from driving for two years.