Burglar stole wedding ring as couple celebrated golden anniversary

Heroin addict Ashley Lawton ransacked a bedroom and forced open a bureau at the couple's home in Hammerwich.

Along with the lady's rings, 28-year-old Lawton, who is from Burntwood but has no fixed address, also took a Victorian watch that belonged to her grandmother.

Stafford Crown Court heard this week how he pawned the lot for £200 to buy drugs.

At the time of the break-in, Lawton was out of jail on licence for breaking in to his own mother's house in Burntwood. He pleaded guilty to burgling the anniversary couple's bungalow.

Judge Mark Eades told him: "When you were out on licence, you went to your mother's to try and cajole from her more money and she refused you.

"You walked then into Hammerwich, came to this bungalow, went inside and focused in on easily disposable property. That turned out to be of great sentimental value. You then disposed of that property at a pawnbrokers to feed your habit.

"You have still not revealed to whom you took the property. You could have put that right but you put your own interests first."

Mr Robert Edwards, prosecuting, said the couple left their home on August 16 in a secure state. When they came back at around 11.30am, they saw a bedroom window wide open. Their bedroom had been ransacked and jewellery and watches taken.

In a victim impact statement, the wife said: "The items are very personal. It's that value and not the financial value that hurts, in particular my wedding ring and engagement ring have been taken as the next week my husband and I were married 50 years."

Mr Edwards said forensic officers found fingerprints and footprints at the scene of the crime. The fingerprints matched Lawton's and when he was arrested, his footwear was similar to that which made the footprints. When questioned, however, he made no comment to the police.

Judge Eades commented: "He's done nothing to assist the owners in getting their property back."

Miss Siobhan Collins, defending, said: "He's been struggling since childhood with drug abuse, starting with cannabis and spiralling in to heroin. He is ashamed of what he did, clearly an irresponsible crime. People in the grip of addiction commit crimes which are criminally and emotionally wrong."

Lawton had lapsed back in to drug abuse on his release from prison on licence.