A gang of car criminals travelled from West to East Yorkshire in a bid to steal two cars in a dawn raid on a Bridlington home.

Butcher Kim Harries was getting ready for work at his home in West Crayke, Bridlington, when he heard his Peugeot being revved up and raced out of his drive followed by the Renault Clio of his partner Zoe Temple.

The keys had been taken from a kitchen work top - stolen during a break in.

Hull Crown Court heard Mohammed Shafiq, 23, of Haywood Street, Bradford, had convinced his wife to take part in a 'Bonnie and Clyde' style car crime.

The stolen Peugeot and Renault Clio joined a convoy with a Vauxhall Vectra driven by Andrea Shafiq on January 22, this year.

They were joined by Stewart Walton, 24, of Leeds, and Richard Andrew, 21, of Cayhill Drive, Wyke, Bradford.

The gang's sting came to a halt when they abandoned the vehicles as they were tailed by a police helicopter.

The three men ran to hide inside a garden shed in Southfield Lane, Barmston, but the helicopter's infra-red heat seeker had picked them up and they were arrested by police officers at the scene.

Prosecutor Simon Waley told the court the gang were found in possession of a telescopic magnetic arm capable of lifting keys from a kitchen worktop. One had left a footprint inside the house.

The court was told the gang had travelled across the M62, hatching their plan on route.

The three men pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary and two charges of theft at Hull Crown Court.

Stewart Walton, of Leeds, who has previous convictions for aggravated vehicle taking, burglary and dangerous driving, was jailed for 18 months. Mohammed Shafiq, who has a previous conviction for theft from a dwelling, was jailed for 12 months. Richard Andrew, who had more than five previous car theft offences was jailed for 15 months.

Andrea Shafiq, 26, of Wood View Mount, Leeds, pleaded guilty to the theft of two cars on the basis of joint enterprise. She was sentenced to a 60-hour community punishment order.

Barrister Nicholas Barker for Mohammed Shafiq said he was a mild-mannered, easily led man who had fallen in with the wrong crowd. "He committed the offence out of a desire to impress," said Mr Barker. "He acknowledges there was a sense of excitement to it. He now knows the cost of that was an expensive one."

Barrister Steven Garth for Shafiq's wife, said she held down a £17,000-a-year responsible job in an accounts department and was an intelligent woman who had felt compelled to join the men after picking them up in the Vectra. He said: "The offence was committed in order to keep the peace between her and her husband, who asked her to drive. In a way she felt she did not have much choice. It was while driving across the M62 she began to realise something was wrong."

Barrister Giles Bridge for Stewart Walton said his criminal record long, but he accepted, he was the person who went into the house. His footprint was found inside.

Barrister Chris Dunn for Richard Andrew, a tiler, said he did not take part in the break in, but drove one of the cars.

Recorder Elizabeth Bond said the different sentences reflected the different roles played by each offender and their backgrounds.