A LONDON-based burglar snatched £30,000 worth of bikes from a Keswick shop before leading police on a high speed pursuit during which he overtook an ambulance.

Harry Curran, 34, aroused suspicions at another town store during the day on October 5. He was dressed in a tracksuit and spent only several minutes looking at several high value cycles.

Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told Carlisle Crown Court: “He did not look like the usual customer in the Lakes to buy a mountain bike. That was due to the way he was dressed and also the inappropriate bike he was choosing for his build.”

Curran was stopped by police in Ambleside and then appeared with accomplice James Easterbrook, 41, outside Penrith’s Arragons Cycle Centre.

At 10pm, a member of the public saw and heard suspicious activity at small independent retailer E-Venture Bikes in Keswick, where a hired van was backed up to the premises. “The van door was slammed shut and it sped off with some wheel spin leaving Keswick in a hurry,” said Mr Rogerson.

READ MORE: Workington man threw German Shepherd into pool and hit him with pipe

Police saw the van being driving dangerously on the M6, undertaking HGVs and hitting 115mph before leaving the motorway at Junction 33. During a police chase on the A6, it overtook an ambulance on the blind crest of a hill but was stopped and boxed in after police deployed a stinger.

Curran was detained and Easterbrook was caught after trying to flee. A third person escaped capture while balaclavas and an angle grinder were found in the van along with the loot.

Career criminal Curran, of Wicker Street, Tower Hamlets, and Easterbrook, of Cable Street, both London, admitted burglary. Curran also admitted dangerous driving.

In an impact statement, the Keswick shop owner said his fear of further crimes was causing distress and anxiety. “It makes me wonder why I bother,” he stated. “I feel like the criminals just don’t understand the impact their crime has on me, my business and the local community in Keswick.”

There was cosmetic damage to all five bikes, leaving the owner at a £7,362 loss due to having to sell them at a reduced price.

After hearing mitigation on behalf of both men, Judge Nicholas Barker jailed Curran — a father-to-be — for 27 months. Less-involved Easterbrook had a 14-month jail term suspended for two years and must complete rehabilitation, unpaid work and an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement.

“It is clear to me the purpose of your activity that night was to steal high value items that you knew were high value,” Judge Barker told the pair, “and you had travelled a considerable distance to do so.”

Curran must serve a 20-month driving ban when released.

READ MORE: Maryport man vowed to smash ex's face in court hears