Banned driver found hiding in garden bin after dumping stolen Volkswagon Golf

08 April 2024 , 11:35

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Darran Jenkinson drove a VW Golf GTI within hours of it being stolen (Image: North News & Pictures northnews.co.uk)

A banned driver who tried to hide from police in a garden bin after he was spotted behind the wheel has been jailed.

Darran Jenkinson took to the roads in a VW Golf GTI, just hours after it was stolen but he dumped it when he spotted officers on his trail. Durham Crown Court heard the 22-year-old told police he was just following instructions to drive the car "back to Stockton" but after a quick check of his records officers discovered Jenkinson was banned at the time.

Michael Cahill, prosecuting, said the Golf was parked outside its owner’s home, on Kepier Crescent, Gilesgate, Durham, overnight from October 8 to 9, last year. However, the owner discovered his car keys were missing when he got up to get ready to go to work at 7am and after looking outside he saw that the car was missing and reported the theft to police. By 1.30pm that day, police saw the Golf being driven in Prebends Field, on the nearby High Grange Estate.

Mr Cahill said the officers noticed the car's speed momentarily increased, before it was found abandoned in Pilgrim’s Way where the defendant was found trying to hide in a garden bin. He told the officers he was picked up earlier that day, driven to Durham, and dropped off with the instruction to drive the Golf to Stockton.

Jenkinson claimed he thought his 12-month driving ban, only imposed in March last year, had expired. The defendant, of Wharfe Way, admitted handling stolen goods, driving while disqualified, while unlicensed and without insurance. The offence also put him in breach of a 12-month community order imposed for aggravated vehicle taking, last March.

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Sophie Allinson-Howells, defending, told the court her client's role was "straightforward and limited" in following instructions to drive the car "from point A to point B."

Miss Allinson-Howells said: "He started driving and panicked when he saw the police and, so, ran from the car. He was pretty much immediately apprehended by police. The fact he immediately told the police he had been driving is not one of the hallmarks of a significant offender. He's 22, relatively lightly convicted, and has demonstrated a lack of sophistication by his immediate admissions."

However, Judge Richard Bennett told Jenkinson that he did not accept the claim that he had limited knowledge of the original offence and jailed him for 14 months. He also banned Jenkinson from driving for 13 months, six months of which will still be in place upon his release on licence at the mid-point of the custodial sentence.

Ryan Fahey