PASSENGERS were seconds from disaster after a car thief crashed into a level crossing, a court has been told.

Terence Fowler, 20, was in a stolen Mercedes Benz when he crashed into the barrier at King’s Dyke, Whittlesey. A cross county train came within nine seconds of careering into him.

Fowler fled the scene, abandoning the car in a Whittlesey street. By the time he crashed police and fled the scene police had abandoned the chase on safety grounds.

Fowler, of Peyton Avenue, March, now faces a jail sentence after admitting dangerous driving, driving without insurance, aggravated vehicle taking and other offences.

With nine previous convictions recorded against him, he will be sentenced when he returns to Peterborough Crown Court on April 14.

He was remanded in custody.