A CAR thief who went on the run has now been brought to justice - but has kept his liberty.

Burnley Crown Court heard how ex-Army PT instructor, Vincent Bohnen, 36, had kept out of trouble for three years, was now working and had kept off drugs. The defendant, a father-of-three, who drove a man to Accrington to steal a Landrover Discovery which later twice rammed a police car, was sent to prison for three months, suspended for two years.

Bohnen, of Eastbourne, admitted theft of the vehicle, having an offensive weapon in a public place, and failing to surrender.

Gavin McBride, prosecuting, told the court the £14,000 Landrover rammed a police car twice. Bohnen was travelling behind it, in convoy, in a Volkswagen.

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