A CAR thief who reversed into a Clydebank mum after stealing her motor while high on drink and drugs was jailed again last week for driving dangerously in another stolen car.


Sheriff Maxwell Hendry told Patrick Murray the latest bout of dangerous driving in Duntocher was one of the worst he had ever had to deal with and put many lives at risk.


Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard Murray was released from prison less than a week before going on his stolen car joyride and his lawyer said when not in jail Murray tends to “get mad wi' it”.


Murray, 26, admitted driving dangerously on Dalneigh Avenue, Cunningham Drive, Beeches Road, Craigielee Road, and Duntocher Road in a stolen Ford Fiesta Zetec on October 4 last year.


The court heard he drove at high speed, failing to slow down at junctions, swerved on to a footpath, caused oncoming vehicles to take evasive action to avoid crashing, lost control of the car and crashed into another motor, leaving both damaged.


He also admitted to driving without a proper licence or insurance, failing to stop for a uniformed police officer, failing to stop at the scene of an accident or to give a breath test.


His teen accomplice, who can’t be named for legal reasons, admitted stealing the car from a home in Melfort Gardens that day, along with a Mercedes coupé.


The teenager also pleaded guilty to breaking into the property and stealing two sets of car keys, two sets of house keys, mobile phones, an iPad, a tablet computer, a handbag, a purse and £60.


He also admitted resetting a watch the previous day.


The court heard Murray had been released from a previous prison sentence on September 30, less than a week before his stolen car joyride.


His lawyer, Roddy Boag, told the court last Wednesday that in the past eight years Murray had been out of custody for less than a year.


He added: “He gets out and he tends just to go out and get ‘mad wi it’ and that’s reflected in his record.”


In a previous incident, Murray broke into Johanna Hepburn’s home in Radnor park in 2012, stole car keys and tried to make off in their vehicle but panicked when confronted and hit Ms Hepburn, leaving her with broken ribs and broken teeth.


Mr Boag said Murray, whose address was given as Low Moss Prison, had the example of an older brother who appeared to be turning himself around from a life of crime.


His accomplice’s lawyer, Scott Adair, said this was a “watershed” moment for his client.


Sheriff Hendry jailed Murray for 35 months and his accomplice for 15 months. Both were given a seven-month supervised release order which starts when they get out of jail.