'Extreme' 90mph danger driver careered down A66 weaving in and out of traffic

Keaton Harbron
-Credit: (Image: Cleveland Police)


A banned driver led police on a high speed chase through Middlesbrough and Stockton, before he crashed into railings and was arrested.

Keaton Harbron, 24, drove at more that 90mph, "weaving in and out of traffic" on the A66, and driving around a roundabout the wrong way. As cars parted on hearing the police siren, Harbron squeezed through in his Vauxhall Insignia.

It's the fourth time Harbron has been in court for driving offences.

On Monday, Jonathan Gittins, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court that PC Robinson was out on patrol in Stockton, when he recognised Harbron as a disqualified driver, in a car on Eastbourne Road. When the officer got out of his car, on August 12, and approached the Insignia, Harbron sped off.

The next day, police spotted Harbron driving down Middlesbrough's Ormesby Road. When they tried to stop him, he turned around and drove onto the A66. He drove at more than 90mph, as a police car chased him towards the Tees Barrage.

Harbron ignored a red light and sped down Princeton Drive, at over 50mph. A second police car joined the chase and Harbron crashed into railings on The Black Path in Stockton. He got out of his car and tried to run, but he was caught and arrested.

Mr Gittins said that he had two small bags of cannabis on him, that he said were not his, and once back at the police station, he refused to give a blood test for a drugs check. There was a passenger in the back of Harbron's car.

Harbron admitted dangerous driving; two counts of driving whilst disqualified; driving without insurance; and the possession of a class B drug. He 24 previous convictions for 54 offences, which include three convictions for dangerous driving, and four for drug driving. In 2022, he was jailed for 20-months, after he led police on two chases in his Skoda.

In mitigation, Paul Green told the court that Harbron, who has been on remand in Durham prison, is now clean of drugs and wants to finish a training course before starting work, when he is released. "He has a job offer to paint wind turbines," Mr Green said, "he's in a relationship which is important to him."

Judge Francis Laird said that the chase had been carried out at "extreme speed" on the A66. Harbron, of Whitby Close in Saltburn, was jailed for 16 months and disqualified from driving for three years and eight months.

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