A runaway driver abandoned his car after a police pursuit - and hid in a wheelie bin.

There was no sign of Thomas Parker until a sharp-eyed officer spotted the bin a few feet away. When he lifted the lid he saw a pair of trainers peeping out from beneath a bundle of cardboard.

Parker, 23, of Ditchling Road, Brighton, was warned he could be jailed when he appeared before city magistrates yesterday and admitted dangerous driving.

Martina Sherlock, prosecuting, told the court officers first noticed Parker when the Ford Fiesta he was in hit a kerb in Bear Road, Brighton, at about 2.30am on January 22.

The police followed Parker, who was driving alone.

Officers were concerned about his speed and switched on their blue lights to signal him to stop.

But Parker sped away through the residential area, reaching more than 50mph.

At the Bear Road junction he drove through a red traffic light, forcing the driver of a Vauxhall Cavalier to brake suddenly. Parker then drove the wrong way round the Vogue gyratory one-way system.

Ms Sherlock said Parker was travelling into oncoming traffic at speed. A taxi driver had to come to a sudden stop to avoid a collision.

Parker drove across the forecourt of the BP garage into Gladstone Place, where he switched off the vehicle's lights.

The police lost sight of the car and when they found the vehicle shortly afterwards, Parker was nowhere to be seen - until the officer lifted the lid of the bin.

He told the police: "I only failed to stop because I have not got any tax."

Parker has one previous conviction, for speeding in 2001.

Brian Noel, defending, said: "He panicked when he saw the police officers behind him."

Magistrates adjourned the case until May 18 for sentence. An interim driving disqualification was imposed and he was released on bail.