A young man stole a car, changed the number plates and went on a joy ride with his friends, a court heard yesterday as he was charged over the incident.

Willton Gatt, 18, from Żabbar, took the Hyundai Accent from his hometown on Tuesday evening and drove around with five of his friends.

The next day the owner – who had left the keys in the ignition – spotted it and called the police, Police Inspector Frankie Sammut said.

Mr Gatt, standing sheepishly in the dock, admitted to taking the car, handling stolen property and driving without insurance cover.

Inspector Sammut and legal aid lawyer Noel Bartolo told Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras that this was a case of youth folly.

However, the magistrate told Mr Gatt that if he thought that stealing the car was a joke he was very mistaken and he risked being jailed over what he had done. She postponed sentencing until Monday and granted him bail against a personal guarantee of €2,500.