A bungling high-value car thief who stole two BMWs worth nearly £60,000 and was caught with half the lock for the house he broke in to in his pocket has been jailed for the offence.

Hapless Kasjan Palcynski was snared by police in Barrhead following a car chase - after falling over a wall and breaking his ankles when he ditched the stolen Series 3 BMW he'd been driving.  Palcynski, 28, broke in to a Paisley home in May 2015.

Palcynski of Paisley, but is is originally from Poland, swiped the keys for - a Series 1 and a Series 3 BMW, worth a combined £55,000.

The Series 3 - a 320d M Sport four-door saloon - was worth £33,000, while the Series 1 - a 116i Sport five-door hatchback - was worth £22,000.

He then took off and the vehicles were reported stolen before he was spotted by officers behind the wheel of the Series 3 BMW a few hours later.

Sheriff James Spy jailed him for two-and-a-half years for the offence at Paisley Sheriff Court.

PCs Lesley Rhymer and James Coleman were on duty in an unmarked police car when they spotted Palcynski driving through the streets of Barrhead in the early hours of May 16, 2015.

Giving evidence at Palcynski's trial, PC Rhymer said they noticed Palcynski as they drove from Barrhead's Kelburn Street on to Lochlibo Road and gave chase.

She explained: "As the vehicle was passing the driver looked at us.  "We recognised the car as one of two BMWs reported as being taken during a house break-in earlier in the evening in the Paisley area.

"We turned the car around and began following the blue BMW.

"The driver turned into a building site or yard which was a dead end.  "He got out of the car and jumped over a security fence.

"As I got out I shouted at him, 'Stop! Police!'  "He looked back for a moment and then took off over the yard and out of sight.

"We drove out of the yard and round the corner.

"As we did we found the driver lying on the pavement, he was asking for help and holding his leg.  "When I asked him what had happened he said he was running away from the police and he fell off a wall.  "I asked him if he was the driver of the blue BMW and he replied, 'Yes, I was driving it'.

"An ambulance was called for him and he was searched by PC Coleman - he found a set of keys and a driving licence.

"Part of a door lock from a house was also recovered from his right trouser pocket."

Despite being caught with the lock and car keys in his pocket after fleeing the stolen Series 3, Palcynski denied his guilt and went on trial on seven charges, represented by defence solicitor Gordon Ritchie.

Palcynski was cleared of four charges - being in possession of a stolen iPod Nano, being in possession of a stolen satnav, drink-driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident after Mr Ritchie argued there was not enough evidence to convict his client.  But a jury of ten women and five men took less than an hour to find Palcynski guilty of breaking in to the home and stealing the Series 3 and Series 1 BMW - which has never been found.

Claims that the theft of the cars was "aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime" were deleted from the charges after Mr Ritchie successfully argued that could not be proved.

Sheriff James Spy called for Palcynski to be assessed by social workers ahead of sentencing and released him on bail - warning him he could be jailed for the offences.

When Palcynski returned to the dock this week to learn his fate, Mr Ritchie asked for leniency for the family man.

He said he had been living in Scotland with his family for a number of years and therefore "has a base and have been very settled" here.

The lawyer argued that the community would be able to benefit from his crimes if he were given a Community Payback Order as he "has skills" he could put to good use while doing unpaid work.

And he said that jailing him would probably mean he was deported back to Poland and result in his family being left with a stark choice - stay in Scotland "without his presence or support, or return to Poland, where their quality of life will not be as good."

But Sheriff Spy ruled there was only one way he could deal with Palcynski, and caged him for 30 months.

As he passed the two-and-a-half-year term, the sheriff said: "This was a well organised, well planned and well executed operation.

"Two high-value motor vehicle were stolen, only one of which was recovered."