Jail for burglar caught driving while disqualified for the 8th time

A former soldier with 60 previous offences on his record is back in jail after stealing an electric bike and being caught driving while disqualified for the eighth time. Phillip Taylor, 39, appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Friday (June 18) after admitting the latest offences.

The court heard that in May, just over three months after being released from prison after his last jail sentence, Taylor, formerly of Sylvan Street, Newfoundpool, Leicester, was driving past a home in Charnian Way, Shepshed. There, he saw an open garage door and the £800 electric bike inside.

He pulled over, put the bike in his car and drove off. A neighbour saw the theft and alerted the bike's owner and Leicestershire Police were called.

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The theft was caught on CCTV and a police officer recognised Taylor, who was homeless at that time and living in a friend's car. But he was caught six days later while driving the car in Loughborough.

He was pulled over for driving without insurance and driving while disqualified. The court heard that Taylor, who previously served with the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, already had 60 offences on his record including another burglary, several driving without insurance offences and seven convictions for driving while disqualified.

In October last year he had been jailed for various things, including driving offences, and later the same year was also convicted of assaulting an emergency worker. Sukdev Bisla, representing Taylor, said the electric bike theft was opportunistic.

He said: "The burglary was an impulsive offence. The bike was sticking halfway out of the garage, he saw it and made the foolish decision to steal it. There was limited intrusion into the property."

He asked the judge, Recorder William Davis, to give his client a suspended sentence. He said Taylor had a job as a forklift driver lined up, as well as accommodation, and was willing to pay the bike owner full compensation.

He added that his client had post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the Army. But the judge said there was no option but to jail Taylor due to his previous record and the fact that he has often failed to comply with court orders in the past.

He said: "I do not find a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."

Taylor was jailed for six months and banned from driving for 25 months. He will have to take an extended re-test before he can drive again.