A ONE-time wheeler dealer, then involved in the disposal of stolen cars, including a £60,000 Range Rover, has been spared immediate jail.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Noel Devers, 27, had been phoned, asking if he knew how to get rid of the vehicles within hours of them being stolen in burglaries. The Range Rover Vogue Sport and BMW 318 were stolen on December 9, 2012 and Devers was arrested within days.

The hearing was told how the father -of-two, had built up a reputation as somebody who was prepared to buy and sell stolen property. He had been given a suspended jail term for handling £1,500 worth of stolen computer equipment, again within hours of it being taken in a house raid, last July. But, he was now said to have turned his life around, was working as a roofer and had not offended during the suspended term.

Devers, of Nairne Street, Burnley, admitted two counts of handling stolen goods, in December 2012. He was given nine months in prison, suspended for a year.

Tim Ashmole, prosecuting, said the Vogue and the BMW were both recovered.

The defendant had 34 offences on his record, and had served 32 months behind bars for robbery. In July last year, he received 12 months in custody, suspended for 18 months, with 180 hours unpaid work.