A teenager tried to break into a property before going on to steal a car, taking police on a 70mph chase through the streets of East Lancashire.

Thomas Hilton even goaded officers about their driving skills when they eventually found him hiding in some woods in Accrington.

Hilton, now 19, attempted to break into a house on Bold Venture Way in Clayton-le-Moors on the evening of February 12.

Preston Crown Court heard Hilton, who was accompanied by two other people, first tried the handle of a car parked in the driveway before then trying the handle of the front door of the property.

When he had no success he and his pals walked away.

The occupant of the house was asleep at the time but was alerted by a notification sent to his phone from his CCTV monitoring system.

He managed to get a description of Hilton and called the police.

Prosecuting, David Clarke said not long after, Hilton entered Spring Meadows, also in Clayton-le-Moors, not far from the first property.

He said: “The occupants of a house had let their dog out and when they brought it back in the dog was barking.

"They thought it strange so one of the occupants looked out of the window and could see his car had been taken.

“CCTV showed the car being driven away. The occupant’s wife said she normally kept the keys on the windowsill in the porch but they had gone.”

The court heard police were called and were given the number plate of the stolen vehicle.

At around 10.40pm the car was spotted driving at speed through Rishton and was followed by officers, who turned on their blue lights and indicated for it to stop.

However, instead of pulling over, Hilton, continued to speed away from officers in the car and reached speeds of more than 70mph in 50mph and 30mph zones.

Mr Clarke continued: “He drove through Great Harwood and then cut a blind corner and just missed another driver at a roundabout.

“He then drove at excess speeds down Whalley Road and went down a no entry street, driving the wrong way.

“He then went through a red traffic light and narrowly missed a pedestrian who was crossing the road.

“He continued on to Accrington and the police decided to abandon the chase due to concern for other members of the public.

“Other patrols later found the car abandoned in the middle of the road.

“The was blood on the indicator and handbrake and one of the front tyres was flat.

“The defendant was located in nearby woods hiding in the undergrowth, and was found to have a nasty cut on his finger which required hospital treatment.

“When he was arrested he seemed to find the whole episode amusing, and said to the police ‘we smoked you, you get training on how to drive and you’ve just been smoked by an 18-year-old’.

“He was arrested and made no admissions of his guilt.”

Mitigating for Hilton, who has 14 convictions for 28 offences, Neil Howard said his client had been struggling to deal with his father’s terminal illness and was caring for other members of his family, and as a result had become anxious and depressed.

Hilton eventually pleaded guilty to attempted burglary, theft of a motor vehicle and dangerous driving.

The court also heard that on committing these offences on February 12, Hilton was in breach of two community orders which had been imposed on him, one just three days earlier and one in November 2021 which was a two-year order.

Recorder Timothy Hannam KC said: “You have an awful record for someone of your age.

“You’ve had a great many chances to change your ways but these offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.

“This was a prolonged period of bad driving being chased by police. The speeds were terrifyingly high in built up areas. You were lucky the streets were relatively empty."

Hilton, of Cliff Street, Rishton was jailed for 14 months, disqualified from driving for 25 months and must sit an extended re-test if he wants his licence back.