A “TALENTED” footballer went joyriding after he and his partner in crime stole a car after using a pebble to smash its window.

Devon Evans and his co-defendant, who was sentenced earlier this year, took the £6,500 Ford Fiesta from outside its owner’s house, Newport Crown Court heard.

The brazen theft took place in the New Tredegar area of Caerphilly during the early hours of the morning of September 28, 2021.

Laurence Jones, prosecuting, said: “There was some degree of planning involved of course because they used an electronic device to start vehicle.”

The Fiesta had a tracking device fitted it to it and the police soon arrested Evans after the car had been driven “at high speed” to a nearby reservoir.

The defendant, of Coronation Crescent, Fochriw, Caerphilly pleaded guilty to theft.

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He was 19 at the time of the offence but is now aged 21.

The theft put him in breach of a community order which was imposed after Evans had been caught drug driving earlier in 2021.

Gareth Williams, representing him, said: “The vehicle was recovered and when the owner got it back, the damage was actually relatively minor.”

He told the court: “The defendant is a talented individual.

“When he was 16 years old, he was playing football at a very high level for academies.”

Mr Williams added: “He’s a very different person now to who he was then.

“He’s tried to get a job and has stayed away from trouble.”

The judge, Recorder Bruce Gardiner, advised Evans to make the most of the “evident talents that you've got on the football field”.

He added: “I’d encourage you to choose your friends carefully in the future.”

The defendant was sentenced to an 18-month community order and must carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

He must also complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and pay a £95 victim surcharge.