Burglars jailed for stealing cars from owners' work

Two sneak burglars who stole cars from a factory boss and a nursery nurse while they were parked at work in the Black Country have been jailed.

Paul White, who has 96 previous convictions including 40 burglaries, and John Stonach stole keys from their victims after sneaking in to their workplaces.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday how a nursery nurse working at the TLC nursery on Dunstall Heights in Dunstall left her keys in her handbag at work. She saw it missing later that day.

Also gone was her £8,000 Chevrolet from the car park.

CCTV showed the defendants loitering in the nursery's reception moments before the car, which was later recovered, was driven away on March 8.

On April 1, the thieves, who are both 27, walked into the office of factory boss George Stafford in Pleck, Walsall.

They began talking to him and he told them to leave. He looked out of his window a short time later to see his Jaguar being driven off.

At around 11pm that night, police saw the stolen Jaguar being driven by Stonach and tried to stop it in Doctor's Piece, Willenhall.

Stonach crashed the Jaguar bumped into the police car at low speed and managed to get away, despite an officer smashing one of its windows with his baton.

The car was later recovered with £4,200 of damage done to it.

White was arrested two weeks later and found with a three-inch knife and a small amount of morphine.

Stonach, of Park Street, Darlaston, admitted motoring offences and he and White, of Flaxhall Street, Alumwell, admitted the burglaries and drugs offences.

They were jailed for 30 months and 33 months respectively.

Judge Michael Dudley said: "These were opportunistic offences. When people's vehicles are taken it causes huge inconvenience to them.

"It may well be that both of you now have come to the realisation that if you don't change your ways, you're going to spend longer and longer periods inside."