Violent thug ran over shopkeeper in botched burglary days after being released from prison on licence

A ‘dangerous’ career criminal who drove over a shopkeeper twice during a bungled burglary just four days after being released from prison on licence has been jailed again.Darrell Lambert, 40, had just been let out of jail after serving slightly over half of a 34-month term for offences including actual bodily harm when he and two accomplices broke into a Spar store and stole goods including vapes, cigarettes and alcohol.Owners Vejay and Uluben Odedra, who lived next door, ran out and Mrs Odedra shouted ‘I’ve worked hard for that’ before hitting the bonnet of the thieves’ car with a mop to try and stop them driving away.Lambert then reversed over her before going over her again as he drove away.Her husband was left hanging onto the door after grabbing the handle before letting go as the car sped off.Lambert was jailed for six years and nine months yesterday after he admitted two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and burglary.Recorder Jeremy Benson described him as ‘dangerous’ - and noted he had been released from prison on July 26 this year before committing the offences on July 30. Darrell Lambert, 40, had just been let out of jail after receiving a 34-month term when he broke into a shop and drove over one of the owners twice as he escapedIpswich Crown Court was told the defendant - who has 169 convictions for mainly motoring offences and burglaries dating back to at least 2008 - had not caused serious injury to his victims.But Mr Odedra today told the Daily Mail he and his wife were still recovering from their injuries and criticised the government’s early release scheme – which Lambert didn’t benefit from – saying serious offenders should always serve the full term they are sentenced to.He said: ‘We’ve still got injuries. It’s going to take a while to recover from them.‘Up to six months, my wife will take. She got a number of bruises but she’s also got a haematoma [a large lump caused when blood pools outside blood vessels following a trauma] on her leg. 'I’m struggling with my hand because my wrist still hurts. But we’re carrying on with our daily business.’Serious offenders should ‘obviously’ remain in jail for the whole term they are given in court, Mr Odedra added, saying: ‘They should get a really long sentence and they should serve their full sentence.’Lambert had just been released from prison after serving around 19 months of his last sentence, including time on remand, for the ABH offences and driving while disqualified. Vejay Odedra, who runs the store with his wife Uluben, said serious offenders should 'serve their full sentence'But his criminal career goes back to at least 2005, when he was sentenced to two years in a Young Offender Institution.Three years later, he was still just 21 and a father-of-two when he was jailed for three years after a jury convicted him of dangerous driving for the fifth time and driving while disqualified for the eleventh time.He was also in breach of an anti-social behaviour order which prevented him from being the driver or passenger in a car.After hearing how the defendant had tried to evade police by driving a stolen car at 70mph through narrow residential streets in Saxmundham, ignoring red lights and going the wrong way at a roundabout before crashing into a hedge, a judge told him: ‘It was a miracle no one was injured or died.’Lambert was jailed for another 68 weeks in 2011 for stealing a car and trailer while still disqualified from driving and over the drink-drive limit. He was also sentenced for a separate shoplifting offence.In 2014, he was banged up for four months after admitting offences including drink-driving, driving while disqualified, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and careless driving when he caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage after crashing into a pub in Lawford, Essex.After the appearance before magistrates in Colchester, Inspector Scott Egerton said ‘Lambert is a menace to the public.’ Accomplice Jake Laurie, 33, was given three years for offences including burglaryThe repeat offender received four years inside in 2020 in connection with two burglaries and a police pursuit through Ipswich that was caught on a patrol car’s CCTV.Lambert could be seen driving the wrong way on a one-way road, repeatedly mounting kerbs and going the wrong way around a roundabout before coming to a crunching halt after hitting a tree stump.One of his Spar burglary accomplices, Jake Laurie, 33, also of Ipswich, was given three years for offences including burglary yesterday.A police source said of Lambert: ‘A career criminal – that’s the only way to describe him.’The Ministry of Justice was contacted for a comment.