IPSWICH: A prolific car thief with a “shocking record” has walked free from court despite committing yet another crime.

Darrell Lambert was back in court again as he admitted taking a car without the owner’s consent from Ipswich’s Orwell Road on July 24.

The Ford Sierra had been hotwired and the driver’s door bent back, while police forensic teams found finger prints and a blood stain matching Lambert’s DNA on the outside of the door.

In sentencing him at South East Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, District Judge David Cooper said Lambert’s string of previous convictions was a “shocking record”, and gave him a 16-week prison sentence suspended for six months, ordering him to pay �200 compensation to the car owner and a further �85 in costs.

But this is far from the first appearance for the serial car thief, who has clocked up dozens of convictions for car theft, driving while disqualified, dangerous driving and drink-driving – among other car-related offences.

The 24-year-old, who lives in Fletcher Road, Ipswich, is a notorious troublemaker who has plagued residents and the police during a criminal career spanning 11 years.

Some of the worst incidents include a two-month crime spree around Ipswich in 2007, when he stole a string of cars and dumped them in nearby roads, vandalised others and stole a radio and CDs from yet another vehicle.

And in a daring stunt in May 2009, the perpetual yob reversed into a police car before speeding towards another officer forcing him to leap out of the way of harm – all just seven hours after being released from prison after serving a sentence for dangerous driving.

n What do you think should be done with prolific offenders? Write to Your Letters, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters @eveningstar.co.uk