A man who stole over £14,000 worth of metal and insulation from a builder’s yard was caught after police spotted his home was ‘packed to the rafters’ with the looted goods.
Officers discovered the items at 45-year-old Paul Herbert’s home on Leicester Road, Dinnington, which is opposite the yard.
Carl Fitch, prosecuting at Sheffield Crown Court, said 105 rolls of insulation and 11 metal shelf lintels were stolen from the site, which was secured by a seven foot fence.
“Police made inquiries in the area,” he said.
“The defendant lived on Leicester Road, Dinnington, about 20 yards from the building site.” He said police officers walked past the house and spotted the stolen goods. “They found them piled up in the house, filling the rooms,” said Mr Fitch.
Herbert was arrested and admitted being recruited by others to go to the compound, steal the goods and allow them to be stored at his home.
Amanda Denton, defending Herbert, who pleaded guilty to theft, said he had been promised £500 for the ‘hamfisted enterprise’ and he’d not been living in the area for long.
Recorder Simon Kealey gave Herbert a six-month jail term suspended for 12 months, plus 12 months’ probation service supervision.
He was also made subject of a curfew.
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