A MAN who snuck into an office in Baildon and stole the keys to a £57,000 car has been spared jail.

Bradford Crown Court heard that James Mellor, 32, entered the premises of a business on the Tong Park Industrial Estate, off Otley Road, on November 6 last year.

He took the keys to an Audi, before leaving and handing them to a second man, who then drove the car away.

The court heard that after the owner put an appeal for information on Facebook, Mellor was identified by his own sister and then arrested.

Mellor, of Rooley Lane, Bradford, pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and the theft of a motor vehicle.

In mitigation, the court heard that Mellor had been “encouraged” to take the car by the second man, in what was described as an “effectively opportunistic” raid.

Judge Colin Burn told Mellor: “You facilitated the theft of this high-value vehicle which has not been recovered”, but added he was prepared to accept the burglary was “impulsive” rather than being pre-planned.

He said a custodial sentence was “inevitable”, but said it was “just possible” for it to be suspended.

Mellor was jailed for 18 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 41 rehabilitation days and 180 hours of unpaid work.