A MAN with a long history of vehicle taking who burgled a woman’s home to steal her car before later crashing it in front of police has been jailed for three years.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Dean Boyes, 33, crept in through an open downstairs window of the house on Rosedale Avenue, Allerton, Bradford, in the early hours of May 17.

Once inside, he stole a handbag, a Kindle, and a Playstation device, along with the keys for the woman’s Hyundai car, which was parked on the drive.

At around 6pm that evening, police saw Boyes driving the stolen vehicle on Preston Street in Bradford and indicated for him to stop. Instead of pulling over, he sped off, and within seconds had crashed into another car at the junction with City Road.

The court was told that Boyes had failed to give way at the junction, resulting in a “T-Bone collision” that left the driver of the other vehicle requiring hospital treatment.

Boyes tried to flee the scene on foot, and when he was detained by officers said: “You’ve got the wrong man. I’m out of breath because I’ve just pushed a car up the road.”

The defendant was linked to the burglary by DNA fingerprint evidence, with the crash described as a “short but unpleasant piece of dangerous driving causing injury and damage.”

Boyes, of Hill Top Lane, Allerton, Bradford, pleaded guilty to burglary, dangerous driving, and driving without a licence.

The court heard he had 26 convictions for 46 previous offences, including repeated incidents of taking vehicles without their owner’s consent.

Father-of-three Boyes was said to have “gone off the rails” at the time of the offences following the breakdown of a relationship.

Judge Colin Burn told him: “This was quite a spree over 24 hours, and they are all serious matters. It’s one thing to break into someone’s home, it’s another to steal their car as well.”

Alongside his jail term, Boyes was also banned from driving for two years.