A banned driver tried to escape police after he was caught riding a quad bike on a footpath with a child sitting on the handlebars.

Police spotted Mark Hadfield when he took a shortcut home via a path in Wynyard Road in Hartlepool accompanied by a child who was perched on the bike.

Hadfield then drove and hid behind a garden wall with his hand over the child’s mouth after Police shouted for him to stop.

The police stated that they made a search of the area and found the quad bike parked in Falkirk Road where Hadfield resides. The 32 year old was hiding two doors away with his “hands over the child’s mouth.”

Justifying Neil Taylor commented that Hadfield was riding a “classic child’s quad bike” and had been at a nearby playing field.

Hadfield pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without any bike insurance and was ordered to pay £45 court costs and was given a curfew. After the case Hadfield stated: “I will now be stopping out of trouble.”