A man locked himself in a McDonald's toilet cubicle to hide from police after leading them on a chase along the A47, a court heard.

Curtis Murphy-Seaman, 24, reached 95mph in a Renault during the chase on the Acle Straight between Great Yarmouth and Brundall.

Norwich Crown Court heard the pursuit began after Murphy-Seaman was identified as not having any insurance.

Ed Renvoize, prosecuting, said police pulled him over but as one of the officers got out he was “moving around in his seat”.

He said: “The vehicle lurched forward, almost stalling, before it took off at some speed."

Mr Renvoize said police chased the car, which went back around the roundabout away from Yarmouth.

The defendant could be seen “squeezing in between vehicles”, prompting police to warn other drivers about the pursuit.

Murphy-Seaman reached speeds of up to 95mph along the 70mph section of the carriageway and was driving at between 80mph and 85mph in the 50mph zone.

The court heard the defendant continued until he reached the Shell petrol station next to McDonald's near to the Brundall roundabout.

Mr Renvoize said Murphy-Seaman "decamped" and went into McDonald's where he “locked himself in one of the cubicles”.

But the defendant later gave himself up following the incident which happened at about 3.45pm on February 7 last year.

Murphy-Seaman, of Buckingham Road, Norwich, appeared in court on Wednesday (May 19) having previously admitted dangerous driving.

He also admitted driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and without third party insurance.

Andrew Thompson, mitigating, said Murphy-Seaman had mental health issues and had a psychiatric report completed ahead of sentencing.

He said the defendant “appreciated it was a bad bit of driving” and “must not happen again”.

Judge Andrew Shaw said the defendant was “extremely lucky no-one was killed or seriously hurt”.

Judge Shaw said the offence had crossed the custody threshold but insisted Murphy-Seaman was “utterly ill-equipped” to deal with prison.

He was given a 12 month community order, ordered to carry out 20 days' rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR).

He was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to take an extended retest.