A spurned boyfriend was a fool to take his ex’s Vauxhall as a bargaining chip to retrieve his belongings, his lawyer told magistrates.

Jason Scarff swiped the keys to his ex-girlfriend’s car in the early hours of Wednesday morning – hours after the couple broke up.

Swindon Magistrates’ Court heard the 30-year-old’s ex had returned home to find Scarff in the house and the keys to her 63-plate Astra missing. When she asked him to return them he refused, saying: “I’m going to burn myself in your car.”

Prosecutor Ben Worthington said the defendant made off in the white Astra. He crashed it into a hedge and the vehicle was freed by members of the public.

By the time the police caught up with him on Wednesday afternoon he did not have the car or the keys. Officers bailed him.

Within hours Scarff was messaging his ex’s brother, promising he would return the car keys if she let him retrieve some clothes from her house.

“Next thing the brother knows – because he’s around his sister’s address – is Mr Scarff is coming into the property. He then runs off again when they say the police are going to be called again,” Mr Worthington said.

Officers arrived but decided not to arrest him for breaching a bail condition not to go to his ex’s home, a decision labelled “somewhat surprising” by the prosecutor.

Early on Thursday morning the Astra is spotted by police and officers gave chase along the A350. The Vauxhall hit speeds of 80mph in a 50mph and was eventually brought to a halt near Shaftesbury.

Appearing before the court via video link from Melksham police station, Scarff, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, taking a vehicle without consent, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

Richard Williams, defending, said his client had been trying to get his possessions back. “He made in hindsight a very foolish decision to take her car and use it as a bargaining tool. He took it again when he was released by the police and, having asked him why he drove in such a manner, he can only explain he was a blinking fool.

“He was frightened by the police. It’s not an excuse, perhaps a poor explanation, but it certainly doesn’t excuse the manner of driving.”

His client had suffered poor mental health, including anxiety and depression, but was working with a Wiltshire counselling service.

Magistrates remanded Scarff into custody to appear before the crown court for sentence on July 24.