A CAR thief being followed by police came to a sudden stop when he drove into a dead end.

Bolton Crown Court heard how Robert Greeney, aged 41, was trapped when he drove the Nissan Navara into a cul-de-sac at Ivy Grove in Kearsley.

Greeney, of Paulhan Street, Great Lever, was spotted driving the vehicle without lights on in Manchester Road at 9.30pm on September 4.

The vehicle had been reported stolen 13 hours earlier and officers followed it as it turned into Jackson Street.

But when Greeney, who has 40 convictions for 110 previous crimes on his record, spotted the police car he sped off onto Grosvenor Street at 50mph, damaging the vehicle’s door mirror as he hit a parked car.

The pursuit came to an end just a minute later when Greeney turned into the cul-de-sac.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and having no insurance.

Carolyn Smith, defending, told the court Greeney had denied stealing the vehicle, maintaining that he had been asked to move it for an acquaintance.

She said that it is 23 years since he was last convicted of taking a vehicle without consent.

Sentencing him to eight months in jail, Recorder Andrew Loveridge told him: “You have an appalling history of criminal offending.

“It is fortunate for you that there were no other road users and no other people were harmed.”

Greeney was also banned from holding a driving licence for two years, after which he must take an extended driving test.