Car thief jailed for seven years

A burglar who made £194,000 by stealing high value cars from driveways across South Lincolnshire can pay back just £970, a court heard on Thursday (November 5)

Ethan Taylor, 23, , of Aylestone Lane, Wigston, Leicestershire, was jailed for seven years and eight months in July after he admitted 23 offences of burglary, attempted burglary and theft.

Taylor was part of a gang which used a blowtorch and the "snap lock" method, also employed by locksmiths and the police, to break into homes and take the owners car keys.

Burglaries were reported between January and September 2025, in locations including Deeping St James, Barrowby, Stamford, Grantham and Sleaford.

Many of the cars which included Mercedes, Audis and a BMW worth over £100,000 were never recovered after the car keys were stolen during untidy searches.

Following his convictions, a Proceeds of Crime investigation was ordered to calculate his financial benefit from Taylor's crimes and to recover any assets.

A Proceeds of Crime hearing (POCA) at Lincoln Crown Court was told Taylor made a benefit of £194,000 from his crimes.

But the hearing was told that Taylor had available assets of just £970.74

Recorder Adrian Jack gave Taylor three months to pay the outstanding sum of £970.74. He will face a further six months imprisonment if the money is not paid back.

Previously the court was told how a number of victims reported an unusual smell, blowtorch scorch marks and broken barrels on door locks at their homes.

One victim described how she barricaded her doors after the burglary at her home and felt terrified that the intruders would return.

Taylor also pleaded guilty to four offences of going equipped, handling stolen goods, dangerous driving and driving while disqualified relating to a high speed police chase on 13 May 2025.

On that occasion Taylor was caught behind the wheel of a stolen VW Golf without number plates which was spotted driving in the village of Burton Joyce, near Nottingham.

The car reached speeds of 110mph in a 40mph zone, with a fire extinguisher thrown out by another passenger, before crashing near Gunby.

Taylor also asked for a further three burglaries in Cambridgeshire to be taken into consideration during his sentencing.

At his sentence hearing defence barrister Tom Heath admitted Taylor was undoubtedly motivated by financial gain as he was homeless at the time of the offences.

"He found himself out of work and lacked a routine," Mr Heath added.

"He found out about the techniques the court has heard about from more hardened criminals."