Billingham dangerous driver took police on high-speed chases

Ryan Mains was also caught on CCTV smashing into another car on a roundabout leaving the other vehicle on its roof, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The 28-year-old reached speeds in excess of 100mph as police chased the drug driver around the roads of Stockton, Billingham and Hartlepool.

Saba Shan, prosecuting, said Mains ploughed into a car on Easington Road, Hartlepool, on October 5 in 2024 causing £6,759 worth of damage to the vehicle.

Dealing with the dangerous driving offence on June 29 last year, Miss Shan said Mains was spotted driving a Hyundai around the Billingham area by police in an unmarked car.

She said he reached speeds of 100mph in a desperate attempt to avoid arrest as well as ‘clipping’ the police vehicle on at least two occasions.

The court heard how Mains was recorded braking and accelerating in a deliberate attempt to collide with the police vehicle.

“He has then accelerated across a field running alongside a primary school and he can be seen weaving his way through trees towards houses on Flodden Way,” she said.

The defendant was eventually arrested when he drove into a cul-de-sac, she said.

Turning her attention to a third incident on July 6, Miss Shan said Mains crashed his Audi into another car in Eaglescliffe and was spotted by an off-duty police officer.

Miss Shan said Mains was arrested again on July 26 when he was spotted driving on Norton Road, Stockton.

She said the defendant has driven through a road closure by mounting the kerb before smashing into a lamppost after driving across the same grassed from the earlier incident.

Mains, of Lansdown Way, Billingham, pleaded guilty to three counts of dangerous driving, three charges of driving whilst disqualified and three counts of driving without insurance.

Gordon Carse, mitigating, said his client has a long history of mental health and drug issues since his childhood.

He said: “He started to self-medicate his own anxiety and depression.”

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Judge Advocate Tom Mitchell sentenced Mains to three years in custody for all offences.

“Frankly, it was a miracle that nobody got hurt – the driving was egregious indeed,” he said.

“You are lucky not to have killed somebody.”

Mains was also banned from driving for four years and five months and told he must pass an extended retest before driving on the roads again.