Man who robbed good Samaritans jailed

File photo / Martin Sykes

A man who stole the car of two good Samaritans who stopped to help him after a crash has been jailed for 20 months.

Gisborne man Leo Thomas Thornton, 24, who pleaded guilty in February to charges including two of unlawfully taking a vehicle, two of careless driving, two of stealing petrol and one each of attempted theft and failing to stop for police, was told by Judge John Clapham in Wanganui District Court yesterday that his actions were "cold-hearted criminal offending".

Thornton crashed car near Wairoa on January 16 and Havelock North couple Barry and Patricia Coleman, both aged 63, stopped to help him.

He repaid their kindness by stealing their car, containing all the gear they had taken for a holiday at Mahia beach.

Thornton had his driver's licence suspended for two years and was ordered to pay $486.91 in reparation.

- NZPA