A car key burglar who led police on an 80mph chase before flipping his stolen vehicle near the Shropshire border has been locked up for more than two years. Ricardo Edwards, 18, was in a gang of thieves.

He was scouring driveways in Stafford for high performance cars when he was spotted and pursued by officers.

He was given 27 months in a young offenders institute and banned from driving for three years at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The drama began when residents phoned police after spotting three men acting suspiciously, peering through letterboxes and triggering security lights at about 1am.

Officers arrived and Edwards, driving an Astra which had been stolen eight days earlier in Tipton, sped off, the court heard.

He frequently doubled the 30mph limit, but reached 80mph, and drove on the wrong side of the road. He used his indicator lights to try to confuse pursuing officers along the 10-mile route.

At one stage, Edwards, of Smethwick, lost control and spun the car around – but managed to speed off again.

The chase took officers along Newport Road and the the A518 to Haughton before Edwards clipped a hedge and crashed in Kingsley Lane, Gnosall.

Police searched the car and found a knife, a coathanger hook and a bamboo pole – which the court heard Edwards would use as a fishing rod to steal car keys through letterboxes.

Edwards, who has numerous previous convictions, admitted going equipped for burglary, dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking following the chase, on February 24.

Recorder Andrew Lockhart said: “This was an organised trip by you and others to steal cars by fishing for keys through letterboxes.

“This type of offending causes disruption and distress.”