A FATHER who woke up to find his house had been burgled looked out of the window to see a hooded man stealing his son’s £38,000 BMW.

When victim Eric Bailey tried to intervene he was dragged 20 metres down the street with his legs and body hanging out of the BMW M140 being driven by ‘three-strike burglar’ Christian Raeburn.

In the battle for control of the vehicle the BMW was steered into a parked car and flipped onto its roof, Burnley Crown Court heard.

While the car was on its roof Mr Bailey was kicked several times by 30-year-old Raeburn, the younger brother of Damian Raeburn. Both are originally from Blackburn.

Damian Raeburn, 32, of Stanley Street, Accrington, was jailed for eight years in February after pleading guilty to causing the death of mother-of-two Susan Shaw in High Street, Rishton, on Boxing Day by dangerous driving.

Prosecuting the Christian Raeburn case, Peter Barr said Mr Bailey was sleeping at his home in Talbot Street, Rishton, when he was awoken by his wife Janet at 5.45am on May 28 who said they had been burgled.

Mr Barr said: “They went downstairs to find a number of items had been taken, including the car keys to the BMW, mobile phones, laptops and handbags.

“At about 6am they looked out of the window and saw a man in a black hooded top, the defendant, acting suspiciously near their son’s BMW. In fact the car was in the process of being driven away.

“Mr Bailey rushed outside of the house. The defendant starts the car. He is about to drive it away. Mr Bailey managed to open the door and got half into the car and struggled with the defendant. The car was driven off with Mr Bailey half in and half out of the vehicle. Mr Bailey shouted at the defendant. The defendant shouted back that he was to ‘get out of the f****** car’.

“It seems the defendant panicked. There was then a collision with a parked car some 20 metres down the road. The car flipped on its roof and the air bags deployed.”

Mr Barr said that Raeburn, also of Stanley Street, Accrington, then kicked out at Mr Bailey in a bid to escape. He was identified by the DNA he had left on the driver’s airbag and arrested.

During his police interview father-of-one Raeburn mainly denied committing the offences and blamed Mr Bailey for causing the crash by grabbing the steering wheel.

He has since pleaded guilty to aggravating vehicle taking, burglary and common assault.

The court heard Raeburn had 17 previous convictions for 39 offences, including two previous offences of burglary, which meant his latest conviction meant he was subject to the three-year mandatory minimum sentence provision.

Defending, Isobel Thomas said her client’s life began to spiral in 2016 when his grandmother, who was his ‘best friend, mother and father figure’, died. She said her client was released from prison the following year after serving half of a 29-month sentence for burglary and began taking drugs for the first time.

Ms Thomas said: “The defendant is 30. He has a fairly bad record of previous convictions. He does tell me he desperately wants to change his ways. He does want to grow up and start living a more law-abiding life. He has a son who is 11. He is at the forefront of his mind,”

Jailing Raeburn for 40 months, Judge Jonathan Gibson said: “This was a potentially very dangerous incident.”

Raeburn was also banned from driving for 44 months and told to take an extended driving test.