A banned driver abandoned his car down a dirt track after panicking when he saw police.

Anton Copperwaite, 22, admitted driving while disqualified as well as using a vehicle without insurance.

Police spotted his blue Peugeot 206 as he drove along Bradford Road in Fartown on January 16.

They recognised Copperwaite, of Ingham Road in Thornhill, but he left at speed.

He abandoned the vehicle down a dirt track and there was a short pursuit on foot before the officers detained and arrested him.

Kirklees magistrates heard that in 2012 Copperwaite was banned from driving following a conviction for aggravated vehicle taking.

While this disqualification period has now ended, he has not yet taken the required extended retest before he can legally take to the roads again.

Catherine McCullough, mitigating, said that her client had just bought the car for his mum.

Magistrates were told that he didn’t fully understand that he needed to start again as a driver once his driving ban had been lifted.

They ordered a report from probation staff before sentencing him.