TWO abducted children were injured when a Burnley man, who had been drinking at a party, crashed a car while taking them on a drive in the middle of the night, a court heard.

One of the frightened youngsters had to escape through a window after the accident in Northside Terrace, Lidget Green, Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday.

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The court heard that Zdenko Gujda, 29, abandoned the children after the 3.15am accident on April 18, and handed himself in to police the following day.

Gujda, of Branch Road, Burnley, who had the proceedings translated by a Czech interpreter, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and two charges of child abduction.

The court heard that both girls, aged eight and 10, were treated at hospital and had suffered psychological as well as physical effects from the incident.

Judge Colin Burn, jailing Gujda for 15 months, told him: ““It was such a reckless course of action that it is impossible for me to deal with it other than an immediate custodial sentence.”

He added: “It is just a blessing for the girls, and a stroke of luck for you, that you are not facing an offence that has a much greater maximum sentence.”

Prosecutor Jayne Beckett said the defendant had been to a party at a house in Bradford, drinking quite heavily. The defendant had been left asleep on a couch downstairs. The two girls were asleep upstairs. The owner of the house had left the keys to his Nissan Micra on the kitchen table.

Mrs Beckett said that at 3.15am an off duty paramedic was driving in Northside Terrace, Lidget Green, when the Micra, driven by Gujda and with the two children in it, pulled out.

At the junction with Cemetery Road, he heard a smash behind him and saw the Micra had collided with a people carrier. After turning to help he realised the defendant had left the scene.

Mrs Beckett said two other vehicles pulled up and two men got out with what appeared to be a baseball bat and a handgun. The paramedic phoned the police.

The girls were taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary for treatment.

One of the girls described how the defendant had asked them to go for a drive and said they crashed because he went to sleep.

Mrs Beckett said: “Nobody gave him permission to take the car, or the children.”

Gujda’s solicitor advocate, Tom Rushbrooke, said there was no suggestion any force was used with the children, or there was any sexual or violent motive. He accepted he caused the accident and was deeply remorseful. His client said he assisted the girls out of the vehicle.

Judge Burn banned Gujda from driving for 19 and a half months, and ordered him to pay a £900 criminal courts charge and £100.