IT was a case of unlucky thirteen for the horrified residents of a Selby street.

The driver of a Ford Sierra was trying to escape from police when he ploughed into 13 cars parked in Petre Avenue, on the Abbots Road estate.

Police said the vehicles sustained varying degrees of damage, with at least one write-off.

The incident happened at about 5am yesterday, when police spotted the blue Sierra being driven at high speed.

The Sierra turned into Petre Avenue, only to discover it was a cul-de-sac, before colliding with a police car.

A police spokesman said the Sierra driver then reversed down the street, striking the 13 parked cars and leaving a trail of damage in its wake.

He said that police were called out early yesterday morning after reports that a Ford Fiesta, stolen from the Thorne area, had been located in Abbots Road.

Officers were searching the area when they spotted the Sierra being driven at high speed. The Sierra was subsequently reported stolen from an address in Selby.

One of the 13 innocent victims was Tracy Redmond, who shares a council house in Petre Avenue with her mother, Eileen.

She said that her N-registered Citroen AX, which she bought for £2,000 only a month ago, was shunted about 30 yards down the road and could be a write-off. Tracy, a manager at Tesco's supermarket in Hull, said: "I'm totally cheesed off. I've lost a day's pay and possibly the first decent car I've ever had.

"Whoever did this has no respect for anything or anybody. I have worked since I was 13 and yet it's me that is going to be out of pocket - I'm gutted.

"I heard a loud bang and a car alarm go off at about 5.15am. I looked out of my bedroom window and saw my car about 30 yards away from where I had parked it. It's my 36th birthday tomorrow - what a present."

Two teenagers, one aged 18 and one 15, both from the Thorne area, were later arrested and are helping police with their inquiries.

Updated: 15:52 Wednesday, December 11, 2002