Thief jailed for burglary spree committed after Christmas Day prison escape
A prolific thief who burgled a string of businesses in Shrewsbury and a domestic property in Staffordshire after escaping from prison on Christmas Day has been jailed for four and a half years.
Mark Gillon of no fixed address, absconded from HMP Kirkham Prison in Lancashire on December 25 last year while serving an eight-year sentence for robbery and firearm offences, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard on Friday.
The 32-year-old then went on to conduct a string of burglaries in Shropshire and Staffordshire while on the run.
The court was told that on March 23, Gillon broke into three businesses during the night in Shrewsbury.
He targeted a funeral directors, where he stole a strong box containing 10 sets of keys for the funeral cars, although the court accepted he had no intention of taking the cars but was hoping to find cash. He then broke into the Abbey Hotel public house and attempted to remove the till but again came away empty-handed.
