A man has been jailed after stealing a delivery driver's van and attempting to drive it away.
Jamie Kettle, 35, waited for the driver to leave his van unoccupied at around 2.45pm, October 2 2021, as he went to place a parcel on a doorstep before launching into the driver’s side and attempting to drive away.
The delivery driver was only made aware of the incident after a passing motorist saw what was going on and pressed his horn to alert the victim.
Kettle, who had waited for the driver to leave his vehicle in Shrewsbury Road, Worksop, made it around three metres down the street before he was stopped by the victim.
The victim managed to take a hold of the steering wheel to get him to stop and pull over.
After stalling the van and hitting a kerb, Kettle then ran away, leaving his victim shocked and reeling from the incident.
The victim was left "scared and shaken" by the ordeal.
After being arrested, Kettle was then reported to have spat in the back of the police van, leaving spit all over the floor.
Kettle, who pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without consent and criminal damage to property, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday 18 February.
Detective Inspector Nick Hall, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was an incredibly distressing incident for the victim who was just going about his day job and understandably left him scared and shaken.
“This type of opportunist behaviour is utterly unacceptable and not only did Kettle take the van without consent he then later went on to behave in a way that showed a complete lack of respect towards our officers.
“We’ve made it perfectly clear that we take any incidents of spitting extremely seriously not only is it disgusting and has a lot of health concerns but it costs people’s time and money to clean it up and can take a police van which is a vital piece of equipment off the roads while it is thoroughly cleaned.
“These sorts of offences can have a severe impact on victims and cause a great deal of distress and that is why we will always do everything in our power to find those responsible and bring them to justice.
“Officers in this instance acted quickly to investigate and locate Kettle and it’s thanks to their hard work and the investigation that we were able to apprehend him and haul him up in front of the courts.
“I hope his time behind bars will make him reevaluate his decisions and the impact his actions can have on victims.”
Kettle, of Queen Street, Worksop, was jailed for a total of 34 weeks.
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