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06
Mar
Man admits stealing £5,600 worth of goods from Tockwith business park
A man has been sentenced after breaking into a Tockwith business and stealing £5,600 worth of goods.
Shane Benit, of Grayswood Crescent in Bradford, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (March 5).
Benit, 30, admitted burglary after breaking into Marston Business Park on November 12, 2023, to steal from Vanguard Heating Supplies.
Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court the incident happened at around 5.30pm and involved three men, one of whom was Benit.
Ms Tyrer said police were called by the owner of the business park and told the firm had been broken into.
She said:
They used bolt cutters to cut the fence of the park and pulled it down. They then lifted the roller doors of the business up.
Ms Tyrer said that the three men loaded the items from the plumbing business in the back of a red Ford transit van.
The items, which included piping, came to a value of £5,640, she said. There was also damage to the perimeter fence of the business park, but no valuation was given for the damage.
Entrance to Marston Business Park. Picture: Google.
The court heard that police were able to track the van after obtaining its registration plate and officers followed it for 26 miles to the Holme Wood estate in Bradford.
Ms Tyrer said two of the men fled after police arrived at the estate. One was arrested and the other has never been found, she said.
Benit did not flee and was arrested at the scene, the court heard.
‘A degree of planning’
Ms Tyrer said the 30-year-old gave no comment answers during police interview. She added that the burglary had a “degree of planning” to it.
She said:
Someone knew something about this premises. It is not in an obvious place, it is on the edge of Tockwith.
Mr Newell, defending, told the court that there was“strong mitigation” for Benit.
He said that the 30-year-old knew he was “in serious trouble”, but added that the offence was financially motivated after he had just moved into a property with his partner of 10 years.
Mr Newell said:
He [Benit] told me outside court: ‘I wish I had never done it. I regret doing it. If you have to be skint, then you have to be skint’.
Andrew Watson, a probation officer, told the court that that the offence was due to “financial motivation” and “poor thinking”.
Mr Watson added that Benit was self-medicating for depression and anxiety, but was making “genuine attempts” to improve his life.
Magistrates sentenced Benit to a 12-month community order, which included 15 rehabilitation activity days.
He was also ordered to abide by an eight-week curfew between the hours of 8pm and 7am for seven days a week.
Benit was ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a victims’ surcharge of £114.
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