STEVEN Thomas Taylor used other people's cars to make sure the course of true love ran smooth, a court was told.

Blackburn magistrates heard that he would take cars to get him from his mother's home in Darwen to visit his girlfriend who lived in Blackburn.

And the court was told that after making the journey Taylor would leave the vehicles where they would be quickly recovered and never stole anything from the vehicles.

Taylor, 22, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two specimen charges of taking cars without consent and asked for 16 similar offences to be taken into consideration. He was sent to prison for 150 days and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Emma Kehoe, prosecuting, said that the vehicles in the charges had both been left in Darwen and were secure. When they were found there was similar damage to the lock and ignition of each vehicle and Taylor had eventually been detected by fingerprint evidence.

Daniel King, defending, said his client was realistic and accepted he was likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence.

"He has co-operated fully with the police and he wants to face the music today," said Mr King.

"At the time of the offences he was not receiving benefits and had no income. He took the vehicles so he could see his girlfriend in Blackburn but he always left them where they would be recovered and he did not steal a single item from these cars."