A prolific offender who burgled his mum’s house and assaulted her partner before driving into a police officer in a stolen car has been jailed.

Adam Ashworth, 24, ‘kicked’ through the front door of his mum’s home on Knowlmere Street in Accrington before attacking her partner with a piece of the wooden door.

Burnley Crown Court heard how he then stole the man’s car and, when a female police officer tried to arrest him, tried to flee ‘at speed’ causing her to fall ‘under the car’.

Ashworth, who has 40 convictions for 65 previous offences, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and one count each of aggravated vehicle taking, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and driving without a licence.

He was jailed for 52 months and banned from driving for six years.

Karl Berry, prosecuting, told the court how Ashworth and three other men forced their way into his mum’s house and into her bedroom at around 2.10am on January 26 this year.

He then picked up a piece of the broken door and hit her partner around the head ‘at least five times’ and was kicking and stamping on him causing bruising.

Mr Berry said his mother was being held down by one of the other men but managed to escape the house and ask a neighbour for help.

As Ashworth fled the house he stole the car and was later spotted by police.

A female officer approached his car and opened the door to arrest him, however Ashworth was ‘staring full at her’ and then ‘revved the engine before reversing at speed’.

Mr Berry said she was ‘caught between the car and the door’ and eventually fell to the ground before ‘coming to rest under the car’, suffering bruising and scrapes.

Ashworth was later found on Horne Street.

The court heard how Ashworth also admitted helping to steal around £1,000 worth of flagstones from an empty house in Rishton in May last year.

Anthony Parkinson, defending, said Ashworth, of Lincoln Court, Accrington, had problems with ‘substance misuse’ and he ‘stupidly took the car’.

He told the court his actions against the police officer were ‘reckless’ and ‘completely accidental’ and there was ‘no intention to cause injury’.