Drunk burglar caused £12,000 of damage as he stole Lyreco parcel delivery van from Beeston depot and put road users and pedestrians in danger

Samuel Hendrickson climbed into the unoccupied van after walking into the Lyreco depot in Beeston then used the vehicle to smash his way through shutter doors.

Leeds Crown Court heard how Hendrickson then put other drivers and pedestrians at risk as he drove dangerously as he tried to get away.

Bashir Ahmed, prosecuting, said the incident took place on December 30 last year.

Hendrickson walked into the depot just before lunchtime as staff were working.

The 42-year-old defendant got into a van inside the warehouse and started the engine.

He then drove the vehicle around inside the building as a staff member closed shutters to the entrance to prevent him leaving.

Hendrickson damaged pallets containing delivery items as he drove around before driving at the shutters and smashing his way out.

He then drove off as staff contacted the police.

The van was fitted with a camera which filmed Hendrickson as he drove dangerously around the Beeston area.

Mr Ahmed said the defendant was involved in several near-misses with other vehicles and pedestrians, including children.

On one occasion he mounted a kerb and came close to hitting a man on the pavement.

The footage, which was played in court, showed Hendrickson stopping, opening the door and shouting "sorry about that charva" to the pedestrian.

Hendrickson also stopped the van to remove parcels from the van which he hid in an alleyway.

He had to get out of the van on another occasion to close the bonnet which had been "crumpled" during the collision with the shutters.

The van was fitted with a tracker and police officers were able to arrest Hendrickson around ten minutes later.

Hendrickson was almost twice the legal drink-drive limit when he was breathalysed.

He was also in possession of a small amount of cannabis.

Hendrickson, of Scatcherd Drive, Morley, pleaded guilty to burglary, dangerous driving, drink-driving, having no licence, having no insurance and possessing cannabis.

Lyreco provided a victim statement to the court describing how the van, worth £10,000, was written off as a result of the damage.

It also cost more than £2,000 to repair the shutter door.

The company also stated that they were concerned that the incident may have caused them reputational damage because of the way one of their vans had been driven so dangerously in public.

Hendrickson has previous convictions for burglary, theft and aggravated vehicle taking.

Craig Sutcliffe, mitigating, said Hendrickson was ashamed and embarrassed by what he did.

Mr Sutcliffe said the father-of-two committed the offences after he had an argument with his partner and took sleeping pills with alcohol.

He added: "He had little recollection of what happened that day. That is self-evident from the dashcam footage.

"He would say it was on the spur of the moment.

"I would say it was a moment of extreme stupidity born out of the state that he was in".

Hendrickson was jailed for 20 months. He was disqualified from driving for 46 months.

Sentencing, Recorder Richard Thyne said: "The dashcam footage from inside the vehicle clearly shows the state that you were in".