Footage has been released showing a 19-year-old leading police on a terrifying 30-minute chase.
Reece Bannister held a provisional licence and had no insurance when he failed to stop for officers on the evening of November 11.
The video from the pursuit shows him tearing along roads in Jarrow, Hebburn and Gateshead in his Vauxhall Corsa at speeds of up to 100mph, ignoring red lights and travelling 18 miles before he was stopped by a police stinger.
Bannister, of Northbourne Road, Jarrow, later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without a licence and having no insurance.
He is due to be sentenced on January 3.
PC Steven Malt, of Northumbria Police’s Motor Patrols Department, said: “It is down to sheer luck and good fortune that nobody was either injured or killed due to Bannister’s erratic driving.
“The manner of his driving was incredibly dangerous which could have had catastrophic consequences for himself, officers and the local community.
“He led police on a perilous pursuit purely because he had licence or insurance. He was unwilling to face the consequences of his actions and made a prolonged, desperate bid for freedom.
“He cannot be trusted to use our roads in a safe and respectable manner, and is without doubt a danger to other motorists. The laws of the road are not advisory – they are there for a reason.
“He must now deal with the serious consequences of his selfish and unacceptable actions.”
