A VETERAN thief who was caught up in a police car chase filmed by TV star Jesse McClure in East Lancashire has been jailed for 12 months.

The Storage Hunters host, a confirmed Accrington Stanley fan, was in the county after filming a British version of the hit show when he came across Mark Devlin being detained near the junction of Rossendale and Accrington Road in Burnley.

The town’s crown court was told Devlin, 40, who has countless convictions for stealing from cars and had forced vehicles to mount the pavement to avoid crashing into his stolen car during a lengthy pursuit, was not prepared to come quietly.

Prosecutor Andrew Clarke said even though police tried to ‘box in’ Devlin’s stolen Vauxhall Zafira, after he crashed it into a road sign, he still reversed into an unmarked police car.

A taser was eventually used to subdue Devlin.

Footage also showed police dog handlers arriving on the scene as part of the bid to arrest the defendant.

Devlin, of Albert Street, Burnley, who admitted aggravated vehicle taking, was also banned from driving for two years.

Jailing him, Judge Beverley Lunt said: “You genuinely put people’s lives at risk.”

Mr Clarke said the Vauxhall Zafira belonged to Elizabeth Wilson and had been parked on April 20. But it was possible that her partner had left a spare pair of keys on show.

The car was reported stolen and later spotted on the M65 near junction 10. Devlin, who was driving, initially left the motorway at junction 12 as police tailed him.

But as he tried to leave the M65 at junction 10 again, another police officer deployed a stinger device, which Devlin managed to evade, and a chase began.

Peter Warne, defending, said Devlin acted ‘out of panic’ and was thoroughly ashamed of his action.

Devlin had suffered from serious drug problems and had moved out of the area to Rawtenstall, following his last conviction in 2010. But he returned to Burnley to live with his mother, the court heard.

He was asked to leave that address and started to hang around with old friends, which led to returning to offending, the court heard.