A car thief has been jailed after stealing a Range Rover from Hove and trying to get away from police at speeds of more than 130mph.
Anwar Abdulrahman, 25, stole the £106,000 black Range Rover Sport belonging to IT consultancy boss Tim Thrower, 46, from his driveway in Tongdean Road, Hove.
The car thief was banned from Sussex as a bail condition while he awaited his trial. In the end he admitted stealing it and driving it dangerously.
Sussex Police said: “The owners saw it was missing and reported it immediately to police. The car was circulated within the police systems and within a short time a Range Rover was spotted.
“Officers tried to stop the vehicle but it drove off at speed northwards on the A23. The Range Rover reached speeds of 130 mph as the officers followed it to Gatwick where they found it had crashed and the driver had run off.
“Dogs and officers traced a man suffering minor head and back injuries near by and arrested him.
“Abdulrahman, 25, unemployed, from Stephenson Close, in the Tower Hamlets area of London, was charged with theft of a vehicle and dangerous driving and pleaded guilty of the first day of his trial.
“He was sentenced to 27 months in prison, 18 months for the theft and 9 months for the dangerous driving. He has also been banned for driving and will have to take an extended test.”
After Abdulrahman was jailed by Judge Jeremy Gold at Hove Crown Court, Detective Sergeant Leon Ryan said: “Not only did Abdulrahman steal a high-value car from outside someone’s house, he then put lives in danger in his bid to get away.
“He fled along the A23 at ridiculous speeds which could have killed himself as well as others using the road at the time.
“He crashed into a car at Gatwick but thankfully both passengers escaped uninjured. It could have been so much worse.”
