A 19-year-old from Blackburn has been sentenced to 12 months' detention following a spate of offences in his home town, including assault, burglary and driving without a licence or car insurance.
David Biggs kicked-off with a racial attack on a local shopkeeper and an abuse charge against the man's wife. For that, he received a suspended sentence order.
Before the suspended sentence had been served, however, Biggs turned his hand to a spot of burglary. The flat below his in Peridot Close had been left empty between tenants, and he lifted an electric fire and some blankets from the place.
Flushed with his success, Biggs burgled again a month later. This time he went a little further from home, to St Ives Road, and stole two pairs of trainers.
Realising he had no getaway vehicle, Biggs also took car keys for a Renault parked outside. The owner of the trainers was woken up at 5am by the sound of her car revving on the drive, and could only listen on in shock as Biggs drove away.
The thefts soon caught up with him, however, and Biggs was arrested and taken to court. He pleaded guilty to the two counts of burglary, taking a vehicle without consent, driving without a licence and driving without motor insurance.
Speaking in his defence, Jo Shepherd said Biggs hadn't committed this particular kind of crime before and wanted to put his offending past behind him.
Mike Page, spokesman for the young driver car insurance experts at Hoot, said "For the sake of an old heater, some blankets and a couple of pairs of trainers, David Biggs sacrificed his freedom for 12 months - and threw away the chance of a cheap car insurance quote for a lot longer."