A car thief who got his girlfriend to drive him to a UK Volkswagen dealership so he could help steal three cars has been given two years jail.

Darren Malone was part of a gang which raided Hawco Volkswagen in Elgin on January 14, 2021, and stole a Volkswagen T-Roc, Volkswagen Golf and an Audi A3, worth £64,425 in total.

After the gang's driver backed out last minute, Malone persuaded his girlfriend to take them to Elgin although she hadn't realised what they were planning until they arrived at the car showroom.

Police identified the gang after CCTV footage from Hawco matched up with footage recorded at an Edinburgh filling station, where they had stopped earlier.

Malone (27), who is already serving a 610-day sentence for another offence, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court by video link and admitted breaking into the Elgin car dealership and stealing the cars.

He was sentenced to two more years in prison with immediate effect by Sheriff Gary Aitken.

Of the three stolen cars, only the T-Roc has been recovered by the police, the Northern Scot reports.