Man causes over £8,000 damage - to steal £221 cash
A man caused more than £8,000 damage at a railway station while stealing just £221 in cash, a judge heard.
Mark Hardy went on the wrecking spree during a series of late-night visits to Stourbridge Junction railway station, Mr Phillip Beardwell, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court.
The spate of offending, which included a burglary and two thefts, took place over 13 days in September last year – with most of the attacks, which normally took place after midnight, being caught on CCTV.
On September 12 the 38-year-old caused £1,205 worth of damage to the photo booth while removing the cash box, which held £81, explained the prosecutor.
Then on September 21 the defendant entered Platform 1 in the early hours and smashed the chocolate vending machine to steal its cash box before committing a carbon copy crime four days later.
The total repair bill left by those two offences was £7,000, while he got away with £140 cash, the court heard.
Hardy, who had 41 previous convictions involving 106 separate offences, left the cash boxes at the scene after taking the money.
His fingerprints were found on them by police.
But the offences were not included when similar crimes committed around the same time saw him receiving a two-year sentence on December 6.
He was given an early release in June this year and had been engaging well with the Probation Service since then, said Mr David Swinnerton, defending, who concluded: “He is doing well and they do not want to disturb that.”
Hardy, from Station Road, Stechford, admitted the two thefts and a burglary and was given a 12-month community order with rehabilitation courses.
Judge Simon Ward said: “This was part of a series of similar offences committed around the same time for which you received a prison sentence, which has been served and you are now on the road to rehabilitation.
“It would not be in the interests of justice to send you back to prison.
“I hope this is a watershed moment for you,” the judge added.
