Blubbing burglar led Leeds police on high-speed chase in stolen MG
A burglar who broke into a Leeds home as the occupants slept upstairs then led police on a high-speed chase with the car he stole from outside of the property.
John Cairns wept as the details of the break-in were read out at Leeds Crown Court.
Appearing over a video link from HMP Leeds, he admitted a number of offences and given a sentence of more than three years.
Prosecutor Louise Pryke said Cairns seized an opportunity in the early hours of September 2 last year after spotting a downstairs toilet window left open at a property in Middleton.
The couple were asleep upstairs as Cairns climbed inside. He took car keys, house keys, £50 in cash, bank cards and a rucksack containing headphones.
CCTV later showed him leaving and jumping over a fence, but he then returned to unlock the car with the key he stole, before driving off.
The MG 4 was fitted with a tracker and the police traced it to Manor Farm Close in Middleton.
Footage from the police car showed it pulling up behind the MG, with Cairns still inside.
He then quickly reversed into the police vehicle before driving off. He reached 60mph in a 20mph, drove on the wrong side of a dual carriageway and nearly lost control when turning.
The police lost the MG but later found it abandoned in Middleton.
Cairns, of Manor Farm Road, Middleton, was found hiding under a nearby bush pretending to be asleep.
He was arrested and found to have a knife in his pocket. The 33-year-old gave a no-comment interview.
He later admitted burglary, theft of a vehicle, dangerous driving and possession of a bladed article. Cairns also admitted failing to turn up for court on a previous occasion.
He has 29 previous convictions for 67 offences, including 13 burglaries. He was also jailed in 2008 for robbery.
Mitigating, Richard Canning said that the majority of his crimes were committed as a youth and there had been a 16-year gap since his last burglary.
He said: “All he wants to do is come off drugs. He is not someone who wants to get out of prison to go on an offending spree.”
He requested the judge to “take a chance” on Cairns.
But Judge Simon Phillips KC said a custodial sentence was necessary, jailing him for 38 months and handing him a 55-month driving ban.