Stourbridge burglar jailed for stealing £1k London Marathon charity cash

Craig Longmore’s haul from the house in Arundel Road, Stourbridge also included ‘irreplaceable’ engagement and wedding rings.

The money had been collected for the Lupus charity that helps those suffering from a chronic autoimmune disease that attacks healthy tissue in the body.

Longmore, who had four previous convictions for burglary, struck while the occupants were out around 4.50pm on May 2, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The 40-year-old and another man, who has not been traced, broke into the property by forcing a rear kitchen window and carried out an untidy search, said Mr Howard Searle, prosecuting.

In addition to the money and jewellery a lap top computer and sunglasses were also taken by the thieves who were seen jumping over a wall near the house. None of the stolen property has been recovered.

Longmore cut himself while breaking into the address and left a tell tale spot of blood in the bathroom during his search of the premises. Forensic checks matched it to his DNA and he was arrested on May 22.

Security at the house has been significantly increased since the burglary that had unsettled both the victim and his wife, continued Mr Searle who added:

"The wedding and engagement rings were of great sentimental value while the stolen cash had been raised for charity through the London Marathon."

Longmore had a long standing addiction to heroin and crack cocaine that had caused much of his earlier offending, the court was told.

But he had steered clear of drugs since his jailing in 2015 for a burglary in which he escaped with little of worth after using a spade to break into a property in Tipton, it was claimed.

He was released from that prison sentence in December last year but was still on licence when committing the latest offence which occured on the day of his father's funeral during which he had been shunned by members of his family, declared Mr Simon Hunka, defending, who continued:

"He turned to drink to get through the wake, was offered a lift home by somebody from his past and the inevitable happened."

Longmore, from Mamby Street, Tipton, pleaded guilty to the burglary and was jailed by Judge Nicholas Webb who told him:

"This was a particularly nasty offence. You would not have known that the money had been raised for charity but must have realised the importance of wedding and engagement rings to the occupants. They were irreplaceable."