Last chance for son who burgled his parents' home in Wolverhampton

Neil Jones got into the Low Hill address through an insecure upstairs window while his mother and father were out and escaped with a £250 bike and £32 worth of cigarettes on July 12, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

His fingerprints were found on the surrounds of the bedroom window through which he had climbed, said Mr Gareth Walters, prosecuting.

The 37-year-old, whose 39 previous convictions included 57 separate offences of theft, then stole £465 cash from the till in a canalside service office at the Oxley Marina in Oxley Moor Road that was temporarily left unattended while staff were otherwise engaged on August 1. The crime was captured on CCTV and the owner put the footage on his Facebook page in a successful bid to identify the culprit. The defendant’s name was passed to police who arrested him two weeks later.

Mr Jon Roe, defending, said: “He has a drug problem which has been funded by shop lifting which accounts for much of his offending. He is thoroughly ashamed and is now determined to stay off drugs, find a job and heal the relationship with his parents.”

Jones from Glenfield, Wolverhampton, admitted burglary and theft and was given a 13-month jail term suspended for two years with 150 hours of unpaid work and a 25-day rehabilitation order.

He was also ordered to pay £990 compensation and costs. by Judge Barry Berlin who told him: “At the moment you are prepared to do something about your drug problem. “You must pay back the money you stole within 12 months but if you go back to stealing to pay for drugs there will be no further mercy shown to you. You have a chance – take it.” He said there would be no mercy if he stole again.