TWO men who broke into a car showroom in the dead of night and stole three cars from the forecourt have been jailed.

Richard Andrew and Ross Pinnock, both 29, were in a gang who raided Reeders in Upavon in the early hours of Wednesday October 28.

And when police spotted one of the stolen vehicles in Erlestoke, Pinnock sped off leading officers on a high speed which ended when he crashed in Warminster.

Timothy Akers, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court the garage was broken into shortly after 4am in the morning.

The intruders took five sets of car keys from the office, he said, before stealing a VW Golf, Kia Sportage and Fiat Punto from the forecourt.

He said CCTV images also showed an Audi A3, which had been stolen from Norton St Phillips a few days earlier, also leaving the scene.

At about 6am police saw the Golf in Erlestoke and gave chase as it was driven away at speeds up to 100mph.

The pursuit only came to an end when the vehicle piled into the wall of an outhouse to Warminster School on Church Street.

Pinnock, who was behind the wheel of the car, was arrested at the scene and his phone received calls from a Warminster landline.

When they went to the address of the caller they found some of the car keys and the stolen Punto parked nearby.

Andrew's house was also searched and he had the keys to the Kia Sportage, which was parked across the road, and two sat navs.

The Audi was also found and on the lid from a bottle of milk stolen from the garage forensic scientists found Andrew's DNA.

His phone was also analysed and he sent a text to a friend saying: 'Mate, I robbed a car garage last night'.

Mr Akers said it was also very clear that he had been trying to sell the three stolen cars.

As a result of the raid garage boss Graham Reeder said they lost half of their stock of cars for sale, worth about £20,000, and the stolen keys alone were worth £1,300.

Andrew, of Alcock Crest, Warminster, and Pinnock, of Bristol, each admitted theft and burglary.

Pinnock also admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, handling a stolen Audi, and leaving without paying for petrol.

Marcus Davey, defending, said that the two men insisted that the break-in had not been planned but they were driving past and decided to take the cars.

He said that it was also plain that two others took part in the raid and it was 'bewildering' that they had not been charged with the offences.

Jailing them Judge Peter Blair QC said: "Your previous convictions, both of you, are dreadful and they show behaviour that is consistent with what you have been involved in this time around."

He jailed Andrew for 32 months and Pinnock for 38 months, and also banned him from the road for four-and-a-half years and until he has passed an extended test.