A MAN who crashed a stolen £20,000 car through a wall and down a five-foot drop into a field was today under police guard in York Hospital.

The 20-year-old man, of no fixed address, was being detained after the accident in which a two-month-old Denver Rodeo vehicle ploughed through a thick stone wall just outside Sutton upon Derwent, near York, at about 4pm yesterday.

The car, which belongs to John Sellers, of Sellers Plant Hire, had been stolen from its owner's isolated home near Stamford Bridge, about 30 minutes earlier, according to Mr Sellers.

He told the Evening Press he was inside making a cup of tea and his wife was vacuuming when the thief crept into their porch and stole the keys.

But Mrs Seller's ten-year-old son spotted the car being driven off and Mr Sellers set off in pursuit, driving his wife's Freelander.

He took the A166 in the direction of Bridlington, but a friend spotted the car in the Elvington area and gave chase.

It is thought that the thief drove through a red light and went across Sutton Bridge, but lost control and went through the wall on the east side of the B1228 Main Street.

A witness said the occupant ran off into Sutton upon Derwent and a helicopter from Humberside Police searched the area.

A man was found soon afterwards at a telephone box, conscious but with head injuries, and was taken to York Hospital by paramedics.

A Humberside Police spokeswoman said the 20-year-old man was at York Hospital today, awaiting questioning.

A scenes of crime team was called in last night to examine the vehicle and a recovery team organised to remove it from soft land.

According to Mr Sellers' wife, only three months ago, a minimoto motorcycle and a caravan were stolen from the Sellers' home, which is set back from the A166, close to the village of Skirpenbeck.

Updated: 10:24 Wednesday, November 24, 2004