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Thief who steals, cleans your car

An obsessive car thief who carefully cleaned the vehicles he took before returning them to their owners has been jailed by a British court, a report said today.

Colin Sadd - described by one judge as "the man you would most want to steal your car" - received a six-year sentence at a court in Sheffield, northern England, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The 41-year-old contract cleaner, who has 155 previous convictions for mainly car-related crimes, admitted five counts of stealing cars and asked for 31 others to be taken into consideration.

The court was told that Sadd would dress smartly and pose as a customer at vehicle showrooms before snatching keys and driving away in a car.

After driving them for several hours, he would wash and polish the car, as well as thoroughly cleaning the exterior, before returning them undamaged to their owners, the paper said.

Judge Alan Goldsack said he had no alternative but to send Sadd to prison, where he has served previous terms.

He added that the thief needed psychiatric treatment.

Sadd's wife, Mary, said after the case that she planned to file for divorce.
"He looked after the cars he stole better than after me," she said.

Posted by thinkum at April 9, 2004 03:38 PM