Man hoarded beer kegs worth £20,000

A man caught hoarding almost three tonnes of stolen beer kegs has been spared jail.

Ricky Atkins stockpiled 269 metal casks, worth more than £20,000, in a warehouse in Oldbury, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard. The 47-year-old metal polisher pulled the kegs from a nearby canal and had intended to sell them as scrap metal to prop up his failing finances.

But he was unable to find a buyer and was caught out when his industrial unit was raided on September 17 last year.

A judge yesterday gave him a suspended sentence after he admitted handling stolen goods.

Mr Chris O'Gorman, prosecuting, said police had received a tip-off from Keg Watch, a body set up by the brewing industry to cut down on beer keg theft.

Officers attended an industrial unit registered to JK Autos, part of which had been sublet to Atkins, where they found 269 beer kegs, weighing 2.96 tonnes.

Mr O'Gorman said their estimated value was £20,175 - although he admitted the scrap metal price would be much lower.

Atkins told officers at the scene: "I hold my hands up to it. They're obviously stolen."

He said he had pulled the kegs from the canal behind the nearby Navigation pub.

Miss Blondel Thompson, defending, said Atkins had fallen on hard times following the breakdown of his marriage and the failure of his business.

She said: "He found himself without any money and he rather foolishly thought he would cut them up and sell them."

Atkins, of Cornwall Avenue, Oldbury, was given a 26-week jail term, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 140 hours' unpaid work.