A ROWLEY Regis man who led police on an 11 minute high speed chase that finally ended when he drove into a dead-end has been warned he could be facing a spell behind bars.

Stephen Hodgetts, aged 26, was chased around the Oldbury area by a police patrol car with its blue lights flashing and siren sounding after he failed to pull over, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

In the end, Hodgetts, of Counterfield Drive, drove into the dead-end and he leapt from his Peugeot and ran away on foot but he was quickly caught by officers.

Hodgetts admitted driving dangerously and without insurance or a licence and Judge James Burbidge QC told him the case definitely crossed the custodial threshold.

He warned Hodgetts a prison sentence was a strong possibility as he remanded him on conditional bail until August 29 for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

Hodgetts told the court he was in a state of “absolute panic” when he realised he had been spotted by the patrol car because he knew he had no licence or insurance.

“This was serious offending,” said the judge. “You engaged limited police resources for a long, long time when they could have been out pursuing other criminals.”