SHOCKING footage of how a teenager was driving a stolen quad bike in the minutes leading up to his death was shown to an inquest yesterday.

The footage played at Crook Coroner's Court showed Dillon Turner swerving on to the wrong side of the road and narrowly avoiding a collision at a junction, during a police pursuit through Teesdale, County Durham, on June 14, 2016.

The 19-year-old had been initially followed from The Stang Forest, near Barnard Castle, where he was seen recovering the hidden quad bike, that afternoon.

Police officers from North Yorkshire had come across the quad bike earlier that day after it had been reported stolen from a farm in Keld, in Richmondshire, and decided to lay in wait for the thieves to return and intercept them at the scene.

However, assistant coroner Oliver Longstaff, heard yesterday how the teenager was one of three people who made off from the forest following a delay in a radio communication between an officer in the forest and his colleagues a few miles away.

Mr Turner was initially unaware he was being followed by officers and drove "casually" over the A66 and through several Teesdale villages.

A police stinger was then set up at Winston Bridge, by North Yorkshire Police traffic sergeant John Lumbard.

However, Mr Turner, of Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, was riding behind a slow-moving Vauxhall Corsa, which stopped at the sight of the police stinger and thwarted plans to stop the quad bike.

With police units behind him, it was at this point that Mr Turner drove up a steep grass embankment to get around the stinger; a scenario Sgt Lumbard said he did not anticipate was feasible for the vehicle.

He told the court a police pursuit then began with him taking the lead with support from the police helicopter.

Sgt Lumbard said he backed off from the quad bike so as not to put pressure on Mr Turner and relied on the police helicopter to direct him.

He also told the court that he switched over to a specialist radio channel for pursuits after the police helicopter was asked to do so.

However, the court heard how the helicopter was operating on the Durham Police channel while his car was still programmed for the North Yorkshire version.

Sgt Lumbard said a "patch" between the two channels could normally be made but for some reason this was not done and when he approached the junction at Staindrop village, he received no instruction from the helicopter and lost the quad bike.

Another driver having seen the quad bike pass through directed him but he told the court how he had continued on toward Raby Castle while Mr Turner had taken an immediate right turn up towards Ingleton.

Sgt Lumbard said he received no communication for about two minutes before it was reinstated and he realised he had lost his suspect.

By the time he made his way towards Ingleton, he had heard that Mr Turner had crashed the quad bike.

As one of the first officers on the scene, he gave Mr Turner first aid, but the teenager later died of his injuries.

The inquest continues.