A drug addict crashed a stolen car into a police vehicle before veering into a tree.

Lance Ridgeley, 31, jumped out and tried to flee from officers who had been chasing him.

Ridgeley, of Milton Street, Worthing, was banned from driving for three years.

Peter Lytle, prosecuting, told Worthing magistrates a Nissan belonging to osteopath Jonathan Hearsey was stolen after being parked in Hove on January 8.

A marked police car saw the Nissan speed away from them on January 11 and chased it. In Gravelly Crescent, Shoreham, officers saw Ridgeley driving the Nissan straight at them.

Mr Lytle said: "The Nissan hit the marked vehicle on the outside front, mounted the kerb and hit a tree. The driver got out of the car and fled."

Police dogs were used to track down Ridgeley in Shadwell's Court, Shoreham.

Officers found cannabis on him, which he admitted was his.

Ridgeley pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, possession of amphetamine and cannabis, driving while disqualified and having no insurance on January 11 this year.

He pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without permission and going equipped to take a vehicle on September 19 last year.

He also admitted possessing a knife on November 2, when police caught him holding a lock-knife outside his home.

District judge Paul Tain sentenced Ridgeley to a three-year community rehabilitation order as well as the driving ban.