THREE Wolverhampton men who visited Aberystwyth and Llandinam looking for things to steal and then led police on a 110mph chase have been jailed.

The trio drove away with £2,000 worth of tools in their car.

And when a police officer tried to stop them Clive George Halford led the police on a 26-mile chase while his son and a friend threw the tools out of a window to try and stop him.

Halford, 49, of Leverton Rise, Oxley, was jailed for 34 months after he admitted dangerous driving, theft and breaching a suspended prison sentence.

His son, also Clive, aged 23, of Bradley Lane, admitted handling stolen goods and was jailed for nine months.

His friend, Joshua Owen, 25, of Dixon Street, admitted the same charge and was jailed for 12 months.

Swansea Crown Court heard how the men drove to Aberystwyth looking for opportunities to steal and then headed into the countryside.

In the village of Llandinam, near Llanidloes, they broke into a van used by John Bond, a Wales and the West Utilities employee, and stole power tools.

Frank Phillips, prosecuting, said near Newtown, their Peugeot car was spotted and PC Marcus Wright signalled it to stop.

Clive George Halford appeared to co-operate and pulled over but as PC Wright approached on foot he suddenly sped off.

Over the following 26 miles Halford overtook vehicles on blind bends, crossed double white lines and raced over roundabouts on the wrong side of the road.

Mr Phillips said the Peugeot reached 110mph and tools were thrown out of the car into the path of PC Wright’s vehicle.

At some stages he could follow the vehicle only by the dust it was kicking up by hitting verges at the sides of the road.

As Halford approached a bend PC Wright, an advanced driver, expertly nudged the Peugeot which went out of control and turned onto its side.

By then, said Mr Phillips, more than £1,000 worth of tools were missing. The rest were recovered.

The court heard that all three men had previous convictions for similar thefts.

Judge Keith Thomas said he did not accept for a moment the men’s story that they had been “driving around at midnight enjoying the scenery and taking in the sea air.”

Halford senior, he added, had driven at break neck speed to avoid being arrested and it was only good fortune that no-one had been injured or even killed.

Judge Thomas said he took the view that Halford junior and Owen throwing the tools into the path of PC Wright had been an aggravating feature which had placed the officer at substantial risk to his safety.

Halford senior was also banned from driving for 12 months following his release from prison.