A HOMELESS man who ram-raided a York supermarket to pay for bed and breakfast accommodation has been jailed for five years.

York Crown Court heard how Jason Vincent Longhurst reversed a stolen Ford Escort through the glass doors of the newly-opened Aldi food store in Jockey Lane at Monk’s Cross shortly after 1.10am on January 7, causing £20,000 worth of damage.

The court was told how Longhurst, 31, of Brecksfield, Skelton, stole the Escort from his village and drove it to a BP petrol station in Great North Way, Nether Poppleton, where he filled up with £16.04 of petrol and made off without paying.

He then drove along the outer ring road to the newly-opened Aldi store at Monk’s Cross and reversed the car through its plate glass doors before stealing a laptop worth £600.

Prosecutor David Garnett told the court Longhurst was then spotted by police driving close to the cinema at Clifton Moor and a short chase followed to Clifton Moorgate, where Longhurst stopped the car and reversed it into the pursuing police car twice in quick succession.

The chase ended with Longhurst driving off the road in to a lamppost, writing the car off, and he was arrested.

As well as the burglary charge relating to the ram-raid, Longhurst pleaded guilty to making off without paying, for driving licence and insurance offences, aggravated vehicle-taking, two other counts of burglary relating to previous offences and two counts of theft.

The charge of making-off without paying related to the incident at the BP station, a couple of hours before the Aldi raid.

The other two burglary offences related to incidents at the Netto supermarket in Clifton Moor, York, that occurred on December 9 and 28. The thefts took place in Cheshire in July and August last year.

Mr Garnett said Longhurst had 31 previous convictions, committed between 1991 and 2006, including theft and driving offences.

Louise Reevel, mitigating, said Longhurst had a partner with two sons, aged one and two, who live in Wales and that he had split up with her and been made homeless just prior to the offences. She said: “The reason for these offences was that he was stealing the items and selling them on, using the money to pay for bed and breakfast when he couldn’t stay with friends – this is not offending to feed an addiction.”

Recorder Timothy Roberts QC sentenced Longhurst to a total of five years in prison and disqualified him from driving for five years. He said: “You have committed a series of serious offences against property, the most serious being the ram-raiding offence, taking a car unlawfully and reversing it into a shop causing £20,000 of damage and then you have stolen from the shop. It’s a serious offence because it causes a huge amount of destruction and shows such determination that it can’t be overlooked.”