Man jailed for stealing bus and picking up friends after night out
A man from Nottinghamshire has been jailed for four months for stealing a Stagecoach bus from a depot after a night out and trying to drive home in the snow.
Scott Dowdall, 29, took the bus from the Sutton Road depot in Huthwaite on Friday 22 March, and tried to play bus driver as he went to pick up friends waiting at Mansfield Bus Station.
According to chad.co.uk, CCTV footage shows Dowdall breaking into the vehicle and driving off at around 3.15 am.
Prosecutor David Miles told Mansfield Magistrates' Court on Wednesday that he was then caught on camera picking up four people who "appeared to then go to the back of the bus and urinate on the seats".
Police were tipped off after a member of the public saw the bus abandoned in the middle of Sutton Road with its alarm going off.
At the scene, officers found a fresh set of footprints in the snow, which they followed to the door of a nearby property, where they found a pair of boots with a grip that matched the prints.
Mr Miles told the court that they found Mr Dowdall asleep on the sofa inside and, when asked what he'd been doing, he said he couldn't remember.
Dowdall pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without consent, failing to provide a sample and driving while being disqualified.
According to ITV News, PC Emma said: "Instead of walking or getting a taxi home after his night out he put his own life, and that of others on the road, in danger.
"It had been snowing heavily that evening and officers noticed there were footprints leading from the bus to an address in New Hucknall Way.
"In a great piece of old-fashioned detective work they followed them, found Dowdall there and were able to make an arrest."
In a statement, Stagecoach told This Is Nottinghamshire: "We would like to thank the police for tracking down the person responsible for this theft and we are pleased that justice has been done."
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