A SERIAL house burglar who smashed into a wall fleeing the police in a car stolen from one of his victims has been jailed for a total of four years and seven months.

James Keat refused to take a breath test at the crash scene, telling officers who suspected he was on drugs: “I am cracked off my t*ts.”

Keat, aged 39, of no fixed address, was jailed at Bradford Crown Court on Monday for three offences of house burglary, taking a £38,000 BMW 520 without consent, aggravated vehicle taking with dangerous driving, two offences each of driving without a licence and insurance and failing to provide a specimen.

Prosecutor Giles Bridge said that Keat, who had 31 previous convictions for 116 offences, committed the first break-in on October 8 last year at Bradford Road, Sandbeds, Keighley.

He snatched the car keys through an open window and drove off in the BMW that was tracked by its owner to Heaton in Bradford where it was abandoned.

Keat next targeted two homes in quick succession in Lightcliffe in the early hours of October 25.

He broke into the home of an elderly couple in Leeds Road and made off with a wallet containing £25 in cash.

The court heard that the couple, who were in bed at the time, were celebrating their golden wedding the next day. They were left traumatised and feeling insecure in their own home.

Shortly afterwards, Keat broke into a family home in Knowle Top Drive and raided the keys to a VW Passat.

He was seen by the police at the wheel of the car on the outskirts of Halifax at around 3am and chased through Queensbury at speeds of up to 80mph.

Keat drove at 70mph in a 20 zone, went straight across junctions and crossed on to the wrong side of the road before smashing into a house wall in Cockin Lane, writing off the car.

The police helicopter was scrambled to track Keat who was violent towards the police after the crash and handcuffed at the scene.

His previous convictions included multiple offences of house burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, theft, fraud, handling stolen goods and criminal damage.

He was in breach of a 15-month suspended prison sentence imposed in March last year for burglary.

Rebecca Young said in mitigation that Keat began offending at the age of 10 because of his violent and difficult upbringing. He started taking drugs and became a prolific criminal.

During a five-year gap in his offending, he worked as a chef and settled down with a partner.

But family tragedy and the break-up of the relationship turned him back to drugs. He became homeless and was ordered to steal cars to pay off a drug debt.

The court heard that Keat wanted to meet the victims of his burglaries to apologise.

“If you met all the households concerned in your various burglaries, you would need a stadium to keep them in,” Judge Robert Bartfield told him.

The judge said the elderly couple Keat burgled must have been terrified.

“This was the day before their golden wedding, how mean can you get?” he said.

He banned Keat from driving for four years and three months.