Drunken pair spotted in stolen car by Telford police
Two men who took a car were stopped by police in Telford moments after they had driven away, a court was told.
Jamie Dodd, 20, and James Bennett, 21, took the Honda Jazz from the driveway of the house where Bennett had been staying, having grabbed the keys while the owner was not looking.
Prosecuting at Telford Magistrates Court, Mrs Abigail Hall said police officers called to the scene at Madeley in Telford on November 1 spotted the car and saw a man, later identified as Dodd, run from the driver's seat and found Bennett drunk in the back.
Dodd was arrested at his home where he failed a breath test.
Dodd, of Hammer Fields, Woodside in Telford, had previously pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without consent, driving with excess alcohol, without a licence and without insurance.
The court was told he was in breach of three conditional discharges for shop lifting and criminal damage.
He was disqualified from driving for 17 months and given a 12-month community order with supervision, six months of alcohol treatment and 200 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.
Bennett, of Fieldfare Way, Aqueduct, Telford pleaded guilty to being carried in a car he knew to have been taken, and aiding Dodd to drive without insurance.
He was given a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.
Lawyers for the two said that alcohol had an important factor in their actions.
