AN Ipswich man who was chased by a police helicopter when he and two pals went joyriding through the town said he did it because he wanted to have fun.

AN Ipswich man who was chased by a police helicopter when he and two pals went joyriding through the town said he did it because he wanted to have fun.

Michael Knock and the two other men sped through the Whitton estate on May 2 in a car one of them had stolen and ended up crashing in Lovetofts Drive.

The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge of being carried in a vehicle which had been taken without consent at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court on May 29.

Knock, who claims job seekers allowance but admitted that he also worked for cash in hand with his father, told the court he uses cannabis regularly and drinks a few cans of beer every night.

Gareth Davies, prosecuting, said Knock had been hanging out with a friend all day before in the evening discussing stealing a car.

Knock had agreed it would be a fun thing to do and got into the vehicle soon after it was taken.

Police were sent out to chase the vehicle which was damaged during the joyride and was written off by the time officers managed to get the group to stop.

Mr Davies said: “There appears to have been some discussion between him and the friend about stealing the car before they did it. They then went for a ride.

“Mr Knock's explanation appears to be that he thought it would be a bit of fun.”

In his own mitigation, Knock said: “I could have hurt myself, thinking about it.”

He was given a community order with a supervision element, made to go on a Think First programme, ordered to carry out 180 unpaid hours of work, disqualified from driving for two years and made to pay £100 compensation.