An Aberdeen man has been jailed for a bizarre string of offences committed as he crossed the city to pick up birthday presents from his mum.
Knowing the treats were waiting for him, Craig Stirton took his girlfriend’s car from outside her home in Peterculter without her knowledge.
He’d driven most of the way to his mother’s home on Cummings Park Crescent when he blew out a tyre.
Had he simply called for help matters may have ended there, but instead he marked turning 42 by targeting a parked vehicle to find a replacement.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard Stirton had spent a time knocking on the doors of nearby properties in search of a jack before picking upon a locked Hyundai estate.
He was soon fitting one of its wheels onto his borrowed vehicle.
Fiscal depute Katy Begg told the court that police later found the stolen tyre matched-up with one traced on the car he had been driving.
The accused, who lives with his mother, admitted charges of driving away a motor vehicle belonging to his girlfriend without her consent or insurance and forcing open a lockfast car and stealing a wheel.
His solicitor, John McLeod, accepted the behaviour was somewhat “bizarre”.
Mr McLeod added: “There was an incident where one of the wheels blew after my client took the car.
“In his mind he thought it was appropriate to break into the rear of another vehicle to find another.
“All he took was the wheel. He even went around the doors asking for help with a car jack.
“He went about things in entirely the wrong way.”
Sheriff Phillip Mann jailed the accused for four months, citing his “dreadful record” of offences.