Man who stole and crashed bus during late night joyride jailed

Shane Youll put 'innocent lives at risk' during reckless escapade, police say

A man who stole a bus and then caused £2,000 of damage during a 10-minute late night joyride has been jailed.

Shane Youll was caught inside the Stagecoach single-decker waiting at a set of traffic lights in South Tyneside after his short-lived cruise in January.

The 32-year-old, from Stanley, County Durham, had broken into a bus garage in South Shields and stolen the vehicle just after 1am.

He then calmly manoeuvred the bus out of the depot and onto the road. He was caught on onboard cameras driving wildly around roundabouts and sometimes drifting across the central reservation.

Northumbria Police said the uninsured Youll also mounted kerbs and broke the door of the bus when he crashed into roadside metal barriers.

He had also unwittingly set off an alarm when stealing the vehicle from the garage, which alerted police to the bus careering around South Tyneside without permission.

Officers finally caught up with him while he was waiting at traffic lights in South Shields. Northumbria Police said he was very fortunate to not have hurt anyone during the reckless joyride.

Youll was charged with taking a motor vehicle without consent, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.

He was convicted by Sunderland magistrates on 19 August and jailed for 10 weeks, fined £2,025 and banned from driving for 18 months.

Sergeant Nicholas Watt from Northumbria Police said: “This was a brazen theft but what is more concerning is the nature of Shane Youll's driving.

"He mounted kerbs, drifted all over the road, and crashed into a number of objects on the roadside that significantly damaged the bus.

"Thankfully nobody was injured but there is no doubt that Youll put innocent lives at risk through his manner of driving that night."