Banned driver stole bus for a joyride at the seaside

A DISQUALIFIED driver stole a Stagecoach bus from Paignton and took it on a dangerous joyride along the English Riviera to Torquay.

Daylan Corrigan knocked over a traffic light as he careered out of the depot and drove six miles along the link road towards Hamelin Way.

A shocked witness saw the singledecker swerving around the lanes and taking a roundabout at speed. Corrigan, 26, activated the radio and triggered an alarm which allowed concerned Stagecoach staff and police to track him.

He was eventually found in what appeared to be a drunken and druginduced state in the driver’s seat of the bus in the Chelston area. Corrigan was abusive to police who took him to the station.

The defendant, of Whitley Court, Paignton, appeared at Exeter Crown Court for a number of offences which also included trying to steal a car and interfering with a number of other buses. He has been jailed for 14 months.

The incident happened at 4.30am on October 17 when a concerned member of the public called 999 to report a damaged Stagecoach bus swerving around Hamelin Way. It was being driven in a dangerous way, crossing white lines and the witness thought it would crash.

Police and Stagecoach tracked the bus to Seaway Lane where Corrigan identified himself and admitted stealing the bus. He appeared unsteady on his feet and either drunk or drugged.

Corrigan had started his evening by breaking into several vehicles at Paignton Bus Station. Handbrakes had been taken off and ignitions interfered with before he decided to drive off in one, hitting a traffic light and leaving tyre marks as he left.

Corrigan admitted aggravated vehicle taking, vehicle interference, driving while disqualified and failing to provide a specimen. Corrigan has 27 previous crimes on his record, many for vehicle-related crime. He was in breach of a suspended sentence imposed for dealing cannabis.