Bridgnorth guesthouses burglar jailed for more than three years

Kallum Smith, 23, stayed at The Croft Guesthouse, in St Mary’s Street, on July 4, 2017 and failed to return his room key. Days later an overseas guest reported a camera and an electronic device missing from that room and the matter was reported to police.

Then between July 14 and 17, items were taken from Stoneway Guest House, followed by burglaries at properties in West Castle Street where goods worth more than £4,000 went missing and a Citroen was taken without consent on July 17, and items from Listley Court, in High Town, between July 24 and 27.

Smith, of Highley, at first denied being responsible and was convicted of some of the offences following a trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court earlier this year.

He only admitted the Croft House matter at a hearing last month.

Smith was also sentenced for offences of perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation relating to him persuading another man, Declan Dunne to take the blame for the Croft House burglary. Mr Dunne was subsequently a prosecution witness.

Serious

Mr Dunne was later inundated with "threatening" phone calls made from associates of Smith, who was by this time on prison remand.

Sentencing Smith yesterday Judge Peter Barrie said: "It is a serious aggravating feature of this case. There was a second attempt to get at Mr Dunne to prevent him from giving evidence at all. It was to his credit that he came to court and gave evidence against you."

"There were four occasions in a short period of time when you went into other people's homes and hotel rooms for the purpose of stealing for money. Stealing things that you could sell for a reasonable amount of money," the judge said.

Mr Kevin Jones, prosecuting barrister, told the court that Smith had previous convictions for shoplifting, dishonesty, making false representation and motoring matters.

He told the court that the father-of-one's fingerprints were found on a jewellery box at Stoneway Guest House and on a cola bottle found in the Citroen.

Mr Jones said that when Smith was arrested some of the stolen items were recovered from a rucksack at an address in Highley, and others from a Mazda car.

Miss Debra White, mitigating barrister, said: "At the time he committed these offences his relationship with his long-term partner had broken down. He had begun to frequent pubs and often he was taking cocaine and drinking alcohol. His life spiralled downwards."

Smith, of Garden Villages, Highley, was jailed for three-and-a-half years. He must serve half before being released on licence. There was no order for costs or compensation.