A MAN caught at the wheel of a car taken after a burglary told police he had bought it off the owner earlier that day.

Darren Waugh stuck to his account until earlier this week - when he admitted a charge of handling stolen goods - on the day he was to stand trial at Durham Crown Court for burglary.

The prosecution accepted the plea and decided not to pursue the burglary allegation.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, told today’s (Thursday September 25) sentencing hearing that the owner returned to discover the break-in at his home, in Witton Gilbert, near Durham, via a broken dining room window, early on December 9.

The keys to his Audi A4 were taken and the vehicle was driven away from the house in Park House Villas.

Mr Dryden told the court details of the vehicle, valued at £8,500 by the owner, were circulated by police.

A patrol vehicle stopped Waugh as he drove the Audi in Pity Me, near Durham, at about 10.50pm that day.

When told it was reported stolen, Waugh replied: “What? I’ve just paid 4,500 grand for it today.”

He denied committing any offence and claimed to have visited the owner’s house to pay £4,000 for the car, although he had no receipt, documentation or contact details.

But, his admission at Monday’s hearing, put 31-year-old Waugh in breach of a 15-month sentence, suspended for two years, imposed in August last year.

Bob Spragg, mitigating, told the court that Waugh, previously of Temperance Terrace, Ushaw Moor, but recently said to be living with his partner at Haswell Plough, east Durham, is overcoming a long-standing drug addiction.

Recorder Jonathan Bennett imposed a 22-month prison sentence, including ten months activated from the previous suspended sentence.