Teesside man rammed stolen Ford Transit into gate five times to escape site before crashing in field

A man rammed down the gates of a scaffolding company with a stolen van and then drove off with it, a court has heard.

Daniel Charlton and co-accused Liam Doughtery made off in the Ford Transit before then crashing it into a field in Redcar, on Teesside.

The pair could be heard debating how they would get the van free - with one suggesting they ask people in the village nearby for help.

The court heard Charlton, 37, considered it "payback" after being injured by an employee of the company.

He scaled the gates to Cleveland Scaffolding, in Stockton's Crofton Road, where he climbed into a van which had the keys inside.

He reversed before driving into the electronic gates five times before they eventually came shattering down, prosecutor Emma Atkinson told Teesside Crown Court.

On 22 November, Cleveland Police officers were made aware that a stolen vehicle had crashed into a field and a witness overheard the criminal duo speaking at the scene.

Ms Atkinson said: "One of them had said they would burn the clutch if they kept on the way that they were going.

"Then they made reference to the fact there was gravel further back and if they could get it there they could get back on the road.

"There seemed to be some talk of getting assistance from the village to try and get it out of the ditch by one of the defendants, but the other one said they were not likely to get help with it being a stolen vehicle."

Officers arrived at the scene and Charlton initially tried to hide in the long grass before admitting he had been driving and he had dropped the keys in the field.

Meanwhile 37-year-old Dougherty appeared to be under the influence, the court heard. He had made comment about the van being "pinched", how had they not crashed the vehicle, they could have sold it - to which Charlton could be heard laughing at over the HMP Durham video link.

The court heard the van was worth £10,000 and damage caused totalled £2,000 and the gates, which were only partly repaired, were worth £10,000.

The company also lost revenue due to having to get employees to attend the site in the days following the incident.

Charlton, of St Pauls Court in Stockton, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, Judge Timothy Stead heard.

However, he was subject to a suspended sentence at the time after being convicted of aggravated vehicle taking in August, last year.

Emma Williams, mitigating for Charlton, said: "He committed this offence because he sees it as payback for an injury he received in part by a member of staff from this company.

"He suffered a head injury and it does still have lasting effects on him but obviously this was the wrong thing to do."

Charlton admits acting "stupidly", the court heard. He has been remanded in custody since the end of January, is working with services and has gained employment full-time in the kitchen.

Charlton was jailed for one year after pleading guilty to theft of a motor vehicle and will serve an additional six months behind bars after Judge Stead invoked the previous suspended sentence order - albeit lowered in length by four months.

Doughtery, of Parliament Walk in Stockton, is due to appear at Teesside Magistrates' Court for sentencing for another offence on Thursday and his sentencing for theft of a motor vehicle was adjourned until 17 May.

It was heard he has the "weaker personality" and played a lesser part in the offence.

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