Thief jumps into stream on Christmas Day to escape police

Banned driver Nicholas Mason was spotted at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia less than 24 hours after it had been stolen in a car key burglary.

The 41-year-old with 24 previous convictions involving 57 separate offences was also on bail for an unrelated matter at the time, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

He was spotted driving dangerously in the Skoda in Bushbury Lane, Oxley at 7pm on December 25 after the car had been stolen from outside the Whitmore Reans home of the owner the previous night, explained Mr Mark Phillips, prosecuting.

Police gave chase after seeing him driving on the wrong side of the road but Mason quickly abandoned the car and jumped into a stream in a bid to throw them off the scent, the court heard.

But the defendant was arrested when he emerged, soaking wet, from the water into the arms of the law who later gave him a fresh set of clothes after he complained he was in danger of getting hypothermia. He also smelled heavily of alcohol.

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Mason explained he had been celebrating Christmas but declined to give a sample of breath for analysis to check if he had been drink-driving.

He had been given bail on December 23 charged with battery, the court heard, and received a suspended jail term when he appeared in court in relation to that offence on January 13.

Mason had argued with his girlfriend shortly before Christmas after which she ordered him out of her home.

Mr Andrew Keogh, defending explained: "They had been together for eight months which he told me was the longest period he had been out of prison for some time but he was then forced to sleep rough until his arrest on Christmas Day."

Mason had been in custody since then and Mr Keogh continued: "He has been struggling with an addiction to heroin and cocaine but since he was held for this offence he has undergone a detox in prison. That is a positive straw in the wind."

The defendant from Byrne Road, Blakenhall pleaded guilty to handling stolen property, driving while disqualified, failing to provide a specimen and having no insurance.

Mason was jailed for 20 months and banned from driving for three years nine months by Judge Andrew Lockhart QC who told him: "You were very close to the thief in time since you were in possession of the car no more than 18 hours after it had been stolen in a burglary."