TWO men who stole £1,800 of cigarettes from a Suffolk store after smashing a window with a paving slab were arrested after a 15-mile police car chase, a court has heard.

TWO men who stole £1,800 of cigarettes from a Suffolk store after smashing a window with a paving slab were arrested after a 15-mile police car chase, a court has heard.

Luke Woodward, 21 and Christopher McGarry, 25 were seen sitting in a car in Long Melford by police officers and were asked to open a window.

When they refused an officer broke the window with a baton at which point Woodward reversed into the police car before driving off, Ipswich Crown Court was told.

A 15-mile chase followed during which Woodward drove at 55mph in a 30 mph speed limit and straddled white lines while travelling along the Haverhill bypass, said Michael Crimp, prosecuting.

The car eventually came to a halt after it ran over a stinger device put down in the road by police to stop the car.

Woodward, of Coventry, admitted burglary, dangerous driving and being in breach of a suspended prison sentence. He was jailed for 27 months and banned from driving for three years.

McGarry, of Warwickshire, admitted burglary and was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years with a drug rehabilitation requirement.

Mr Crimp told the court that the men had thrown a paving slap through the window of the Spar shop in Long Melford in the early hours of the morning.

Neighbours had called the police after hearing the alarm and the defendants were found sitting in their car in a quiet road. The cigarettes were recovered when the car was stopped and £400 damage was caused to the shop window.

Shereen Lowe, for the defendants, said they had been looking for a means to finance their heroin habits.