A golf buggy thief went on a five-mile drunken joyride before crashing into a parked car and swerving in front of police.

Jack Hennessy snatched the cart from New Beach Holiday Park in Dymchurch and travelled along a main road before police snared him in Hythe.

The reckless 37-year-old was arrested after lurching across Dymchurch Road in front of a patrol car.

Officers noticed damage to the buggy which indicated Hennessy had crashed into a parked vehicle before being stopped.

He was due to appear at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court last month remotely from HMP Elmley, but refused to leave his cell to learn his fate.

A judge jailed Hennessy in his absence.

Prosecutor Julie Farbrace said: “Officers saw a golf buggy swerving on Hythe Road. Officers said that Hennessy smelt of alcohol and arrested him on suspicion of drink-driving.

“They also found that the golf buggy had collided with a vehicle on the side of the road.

“Mr Hennessy gave a reading of 66 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.”

Hennessy pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking after causing more than £5,000 worth of damage to the buggy and drink-driving.

The day before swiping the buggy in June 2022, Hennessy assaulted and abused a bus driver who refused to let him on with alcohol.

The court heard Hennessy headbutted through the driver’s plastic safety screen and spat while launching a tirade of verbal abuse.

“Ben Funnell, a Stagecoach bus driver, was driving from Dymchurch to Folkestone when Mr Hennessy got onto the bus with an open can of beer,” Ms Farbrace said.

“He then started head butting the screen where the driver sits, and leant in and spat at the bus driver, the spittle landing on his hand.”

Hennessy, of Lower Road, Belvedere, near Bexley, also admitted common assault alongside three counts of theft from shops in Maidstone at a previous hearing.

He stole clothes worth £180 from River Island on October 21 this year and £1,604 worth of handbags from House of Fraser in April, before returning the same month to swipe wallets worth £158

His solicitor, Alizeh Khan, told the court that since she had not been given any instructions by her client, she would not be able to provide any mitigation.

District Judge Justin Barron said he was particularly concerned about Hennessy’s assault on the bus driver.

“He was head-butting the screen at one time. I can’t imagine how awful that must have been for both the driver and indeed for the passengers on board,” the judge said.

“He managed to break through the screen and deliberately spat at the driver. This conduct is vile and disgusting.”

Hennessy was jailed for 20 weeks for all matters and disqualified from driving for 52 weeks, with a 10-week extension.

He must also pay a £154 victim surcharge.