A driver from Dartmouth has been banned after he tried to outrun the police during a chase in and around Totnes.

 Lance Caunter panicked when the police tried to stop him for having no insurance as he drove through Berry Pomeroy and he took off at twice the speed limit when he spotted the patrol car behind him.

 He drove through residential streets and onto a country lane during a two minute pursuit which started in Bridgetown, Totnes, during which he overtook on a section of road with double white lines.

 Caunter, aged 30, of Mashford Avenue, Dartmouth, admitted dangerous driving and driving without insurance and was banned from driving for 18 months with an extended re-test by Judge Stephen Climie at Exeter Crown Court.

 He also ordered him to receive 12 sessions under a mental health treatment requirement, do 20 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid community work.

 He told him: “I can justify not sending you to prison today because of the potential impact it would have on your young family. I have given you a piece of rope, it is up to you whether you hang yourself with it.”

 Mr Thomas Faulkner, prosecuting, said a police patrol checked the status of Caunter’s Audi A4 car as he drove through Berry Pomeroy towards Totnes at 7.30 pm on April 27 last year.

They followed him, coming up behind him as they reached Bridgetown, where he spotted them in his mirror and set off at speed. He went at 60 mph in a 30 limit and 70 mph after leaving Totnes and moving onto a country road.

The pursuit lasted only two minutes but in that time Caunter drove onto the wrong side of the road in a double white line zone as he overtook traffic. Police succeeded in stopping his car in a country lane near Totnes.

Mr Paul Dentith, defending, said there had been no accidents and the dangerous driving had been very short-lived. He said Caunter has been assessed as suitable for rehabilitation.