A CAR thief with more than 142 previous convictions was jailed for three-and-a-half years yesterday.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Kirk Lawrence, 23, of Beaumont Road, Middlesbrough, had been in custody "almost continuously" since 1995, mainly for car crime.

In that time, his longest spell out of prison was just three months, said Ian MacFaul, prosecuting.

Lawrence admitted one charges of aggravated vehicle taking, two of theft, one of attempted theft and one of driving while disqualified. He was found guilty of one charge of aggravated vehicle taking.

Judge George Moorhouse jailed Lawrence for three-and-a-half years and disqualified him for four years. He ordered him to sit an extended driving test.