Prolific car crook arrested outside Leeds United ground after breaking into fan's van on match day

Philip Tomlinson was caught after being chased by a police community support officer who saw him force his way into a van during the Championship match between Leeds United and Nottingham Forest on August 10 last year.

Leeds Crown Court heard the PCSO saw Tomlinson using a device to tamper with the vehicle's ignition as it was parked on Lowfields Road.

The officer approached the vehicle but Tomlinson climbed across to the passenger side and got out.

He ran off but stopped when the officer caught up with the defendant and asked him what he had been doing.

Tomlinson told the officer he was "looking for somewhere to get his head down for the night" but ran off again.

Ashleigh Metcalfe, prosecuting, said the officer managed to detain Tomlinson and he was found in possession of the device which had been used on the ignition.

In a separate offence Tomlinson was seen behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta which had been stolen from the car park outside Armley Jail.

The car belonged to a forensic psychiatrist and was stolen while he was visiting the prison on June 14 last year.

Police saw Tomlinson in the vehicle on the M62 the next day.

Tomlinson refused to stop for the officers, left the motorway at junction 32 and drove towards Castleford.

The 51-year-old drove through red lights and went onto the wrong side of the road.

He also mounted a grass verge and came close to a collision with a lorry.

Tomlinson was arrested from the vehicle on Holywell Road and told the officers: "I thought I had lost you at one point."

Tomlinson and another man, Daniel Brooke, were arrested in a Ford Mondeo in Ossett, near Wakefield, on January 2 this year.

Police had been looking for the vehicle after it had been reported stolen.

Both men were also involved in the theft of a Mercedes van from outside a house in Harehills, Leeds, on January 7.

A tool was used to cut the lock on the vehicle.

The owner called police when he heard a noise outside his home and saw the pair taking the van.

They were arrested nearby in a Renault Clio.

Tomlinson, of Conference Road, Armley, pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, interfering with a motor vehicle, theft and being carried in a vehicle taken without consent.

The court heard Tomlinson has 43 convictions for 163 offences.

Many of the convictions are for dishonesty and vehicle-related offences.

He was jailed for 19 months and banned from driving for 21 months.

Brooke, 36, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to theft, taking a vehicle without consent, having no licence and having no insurance.

He was jailed for eight months and banned from driving for 16 months.

Catherine Duffy, mitigating, said father-of-three Tomlinson had been a pub landlord but lost his business when he became an alcoholic and had his licence removed.

Miss Duffy said Tomlinson began to offend after becoming involved with "far more serious criminals."