Young thief caused mayhem on West Yorkshire roads in a stolen Mercedes van, Land Rover and Sinnis motorbike

Luke Hubbard, who was already on a suspended sentence for driving matters, was jailed for a string of new motoring offences.

The 22-year-old appeared at Leeds Crown Court via video link from HMP Leeds after being held on remand for failing to turn up for a trial in which he denied handling stolen goods, and was subsequently found guilty.

He also admitted theft of a van, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, driving while banned, without a licence and insurance, going equipped for theft and failing to surrender.

Prosecuting the case, Vincent Blake-Barnard said the first incident involved Hubbard and an accomplice, Jason Davey, who targeted a bed factory in Batley in September, 2021.

They stole a Mercedes Sprinter van from the site and rammed the gates before making off, but the van was fitted with a tracker and the police followed it on the M62 and then the M606 before stopping it in Bradford.

Hubbard, who was driving, tried to flee but was halted, while Davey was later found hiding in a churchyard by police dogs after he initially managed to get away. The van had been fitted with false registration plates.

In June of last year, Hubbard was then seen on a stolen Sinnis motorbike in Batley wearing a balaclava and was quickly detained after trying to get away from officers. The £4,300 bike had been stolen from Wakefield the week before.

But just nine days later, he was found in a £22,000 white Land Rover which had been stolen from Horsforth. Again, it was fitted with false plates and inside the car were pairs of black gloves, an angle grinder and pliers among other items associated with stealing vehicles.

Mitigating, Giles Grant said Hubbard was only 19 at the time his spate of offending began and it was during lockdown.

He said: “He went off the rails without warning. He started acting in a way his family found shocking and upsetting.”

He said Hubbard, of Reservoir Close, Dewsbury, has since been assessed and found to have ADHD and autism. Mr Grant said: “He understands he faces a significantly hard time (in prison) with the difficulties that he has.”

Davey, age 24, of Reenwood Road, West Ardsley, Wakefield, admitted theft of the van, and an additional charge of driving while banned from a separate incident.

Mitigating, Matthew Stewart said of the van theft: “He fell on hard times during the Covid pandemic with no job and no money. It was a quick cash-in-hand for him. It was stupid and naive. He has a young family and needed to provide, but accepts now it was the wrong way to do it.”

Davey is a father of three who works as a landscape gardener, and Mr Stewart said he was “remorseful and ashamed of his actions”.

The judge, Recorder Ayesha Smart, jailed Hubbard for 74 weeks in total, and handed him a year-long driving ban starting when he is released.

Davey was given nine months’ jail suspended for 24 months, fined £500, given 200 hours of unpaid work, rehabilitation days and a six-month driving ban.