Telford burglar who stole from family caught by police getting loot from wheelie bin

David Lowe, 28, of Farm Lodge Grove, Malinslee, Telford, was jailed for 16 months at Shrewsbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to one charge of burglary.

Judge Mr Recorder Nicholas Cartwright heard how Lowe had removed the items from the property at Holyhead Road, Oakengates, Telford, on November 4 last year, using a wheelie bin.

Robert Edwards, prosecuting, said Lowe had then left the bin in a nearby alleyway and had returned to collect the items as a passenger in a VW Golf shortly after.

Mr Edwards told the court that a witness had seen Lowe acting suspiciously, pushing a wheelie bin, and had then called the police who were present to arrest him when he returned to collect the items.

The bin had already been removed by the time Lowe returned and when police arrested him they found a Sekonda watch in his possession, which had been taken during the burglary.

Mr Edwards said that the break-in had been discovered by the daughter of the family who live at the property, who could see that draws throughout the house had been searched. He told the court that while £5,000 of the stolen items had been recovered, another £2,000-worth are still missing. The court heard that forensic examinations of footprints found in the house matched the shoes that Lowe was wearing.

In an interview with police Lowe told officers he had nothing to do with the burglary and had found the watch in the alleyway "and decided to keep it".

Brendan Reedy, mitigating, said Lowe had suffered a traumatic childhood with "all sorts of difficulties encountered which result in him being here now".

Mr Recorder Nicholas said Lowe had known the family and that the discovery of the burglary caused great distress to the girl. Lowe was given a 16-month custodial sentence to run consecutively to a three-month sentence already being served.