A man who admitted that he was 'almost a professional burglar', while living in Scotland moved to Cornwall to make a fresh start.
But 26-year old Craig Wiles of Fore Street, Callington, took a car to get home, abandoned it after hitting two other vehicles and stole about £600-worth of tools from the boot, prosecutor Richard Hough revealed at Truro Crown Court on Friday.
Wiles was told by Judge Giles Forrester that the most serious of the offences for which he was before the court for sentence was the aggravated vehicle taking.
'It put the public at risk and it is a matter of good fortune that on-one was injured, he declared. 'The public are sick and tired of people like you taking cars and putting other road users at risk.'
The Judge said he gave Wiles credit for his guilty pleas and took into account that most of the stolen property had been recovered. But he had a number of previous convictions, had offended while on bail and after being given the chance of probation.
Wiles was jailed for two years and banned from driving for 18 months. Mr Hough said that Wiles took Mr Jack Hulbert's car on March 30 last and abandoned it in Tavistock after hitting two other vehicles and causing £2,000-worth of damage.
Police recovered most of the tools when they searched his home. When interviewed, he claimed he had bought the car and that the tools were his, but later he admitted aggravated vehicle taking, theft and driving without insurance.
Two days before he was due to appear in court, he was seen climbing into a garden and later it was found he had stolen a £70 electric drill from a garage.
Edward Bailey, defending, stressed that the theft of the car was not premeditated.