A TEENAGER who crashed his car in the centre of Brighouse and then told the police it had been stolen has been spared an immediate custodial sentence.

Connor Skirrow panicked after he took a corner too quickly and fled the Seat Ibiza with three companions at 1.15am on January 23 last year.

Skirrow, then 19, contacted the police and lied saying the car had been stolen before the crash in Briggate.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Skirrow, now 20, of Green Way, Halifax, falsely claimed that his jacket with the keys inside had been taken.

DNA on the car’s airbag showed that he was at the wheel at the time of the accident which was witnessed by door staff. A woman and two men with him had run away before the police arrived.

Four days later, Skirrow owned up, telling officers he crashed the car after taking a cor-ner too quickly. He went on to plead guilty to intending to pervert the course of justice by reporting that it had been stolen.

The court heard on Friday that he had no relevant criminal convictions, with just two matters of criminal damage on his record.

Skirrow’s barrister, Ella Embleton, urged the court to suspend the sentence.

He was still only 20 and aged 19 at the time he committed the offence.

He was a hardworking young man with a realistic prospect of rehabilitation who had acted thoughtlessly and recognised that he had done wrong.

Miss Embleton said he had made no attempt to minimise his actions, accepting full responsibility for them. He wasn’t intoxicated that night just worried about his insurance position after the crash.

Skirrow was thought very highly of by many people including his employer. He had a partner and family responsibilities and his childhood had been difficult and turbulent.

Miss Embleton said he was vulnerable and would be at risk in custody.

Recorder Ben Nolan KC told him: “It was a serious attempt to pervert the course of justice, which as the authorities say, strikes at the heart of the justice system.”

But the attempt was short-lived and did not involve anyone else being blamed for Skirrow’s actions.

He was sentenced to nine months’ in a young offender institution, suspended for two years, with up to 30 rehabilitation activity days. He was banned from driving for six months and ordered to pay £425 prosecution costs.