Burglar was caught by his mum’s tracker app

Mercedes work van.

Mr Wills said: “The defendant was seen on CCTV trying to get the van out of the complex but the gates were locked.

“He used a forklift truck and rammed the gates, forcing them open.”

Schofield’s family knew the owner of the attacked premises and called him.

He was then able to activate the tracker he had attached to the van.

The van headed onto Howard Street in Batley where it mounted the kerb and drove around the owner’s vehicle as he tried to stop him in his own car.

The van narrowly missed some parked cars before colliding with a wall on Low Road in Dewsbury.

It also veered onto the wrong side of the road with headlights off, despite it being dark.

Mr Wills said: “Officers attended at Beckett Walk in Dewsbury Moor where the defendant was now outside the van, drinking a cup of tea.

“The keys to the van were inside his jacket and he said: ‘You’ve got me on handling but not burglary.’”

The incident happened when Schofield was on a 22-week suspended sentence imposed for a non-dwelling burglary. His solicitor described the offences as unsophisticated and said that others had led him down the wrong path.

Magistrates in Huddersfield activated the suspended sentence and added a further 32 weeks for the new set of offences, totalling 54 weeks in custody.

Schofield was banned from driving for 24 months and cannot get his licence back until he takes an extended retest.