A DRINK-DRIVER risked causing "severe mayhem" after a drinking binge in York, when he tried to escape from police officers - in one of Britain's smallest cars.

Dale Trevor Peacock, 20, fled from police in his father's Ford Ka, which he had taken without permission after drinking in the city.

Colette Dixon, prosecuting, said that Peacock was spotted on the A19 north of Selby by police at about 12.30am on September 9.

The police asked Peacock, who has a provisional driver's licence, to stop, but he sped away, leading to what was described as "a James Bond-style car chase" reaching speeds of 95mph.

She said that Peacock drove through Barlby's 30mph zone at 70mph in the car, at one point going so fast that it mounted a verge next to a bungalow.

She said that he drove several times on the wrong side of the road, and continued to flee from the police at speeds above 90mph on the A19. She said that the learner driver then drove at 95mph down the A163 Market Weighton Road, at which point smoke started to come out of the small car's engine.

Ms Dixon said: "The vehicle spun out of control and came to a halt on the other side of the carriageway, facing the wrong direction."

But when police tried to arrest Peacock, she said he started revving the engine as if he was set to escape again. The police were forced to smash the car's windscreen with a baton and grab Peacock to stop him making another getaway.

Tests at the police station showed that Peacock, a factory worker at Rigid Paper, had 65 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, almost twice the legal limit.

Jane Pattison, mitigating, said that Peacock, of York Road, Barlby, near Selby, had spent the afternoon drinking with friends in York and when he returned to his parentss home he took his father's car for a drive.

She said: "He saw blue flashing lights and he simply panicked. He foolishly tried to get away from the police, but how he thought he was going to do that in a little Ford Ka is beyond belief."

Peacock pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, drink-driving, driving with no insurance and driving not in accordance with his licence.

He was given 200 hours community service, banned from driving for 18 months and fined £420. He was ordered to pay £120 in costs and must take an extended driving test.

Presiding magistrate Brian Shooter said that Peacock was lucky not to be going to prison.

Updated: 12:53 Saturday, October 19, 2002