Addict who stole temple cash locked up

A thief who stole hundreds of pounds from a Hindu temple's donation fund in order to feed his drug habit has been locked up for two years.

Aaron Humpage took cash that was to be used for community events for elderly people when he targeted the Maha Shiv Shakti Mandir venue in Willenhall.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that since the burglary in January, users of the temple have been scared to visit out of fear that it could happen again.

Mr Howard Searle, prosecuting, said that Humpage broke into the venue by smashing a glass panel on a rear door during the night-time raid. He stole the contents of a donation box from a prayer room, pocketing about £420, said Mr Searle.

He said Humpage, aged 19, of High Street, Bilston, knew the location of the cash box, having broken into the temple on a previous occasion.

CCTV footage led to Humpage being identified and a shoe imprint left at the scene also matched a pair of shoes belonging to the defendant.

Mr Searle said that as a result of the break-in, trustees at the temple had to pay for the prayer room to be cleaned as well as call in religious experts to bring it back to its "religious state".

The court was told that the defendant had a history of offending, with numerous convictions for theft and burglary.

Miss Rachel Thompson, for Humpage, said that her client targeted the temple after passing there following unsuccessful attempts to commit shoplifting offences.

She said that Humpage had been struggling with a heroin addiction since the age of 14 and that at its peak, he was spending up to £100 a day on the drug.

"For a young man, he has an horrendous record and he accepts that custody is inevitable," she said.

Judge Michael Elsom jailed Humpage, who had earlier pleaded guilty to burglary, to two years in a young offenders' institute.

He said: "I am afraid to say that you represent the beginning of the downhill and slippery slope of somebody affected by the drugs of the sort that you have been taking."

Judge Elsom had given the defendant credit for pleading guilty at the first opportunity.

He said that the burglary offence was aggravated by the fact that the temple was a religious building and that Humpage had targeted it in the past.

"These were valuable community premises and you had burgled them at least once before.

"Try as I might, I can not come to any conclusion other than that of a custodial sentence," he added.