Walsall burglar found hiding in bush by police
A burglar from Walsall who stole £1,000 of equipment from a company in Telford was found hiding in a bush by police, a court was told.
Sean Pagett admitted breaking into the premises of Vantage VC in Halesfield, using a crowbar to smash open roll up shutters.
A spokeswoman for the probation service said that Pagett had become involved with the men because he owed money and had been told the debt would be cancelled if he took part in the burglary.
Prosecuting at Telford Magistrates Court on Monday, Mrs Kate Price said that Pagett, 27, was discovered by police in a bush nearby the site of the break-in on December 23.
Mrs Price said that Pagett had activated an alarm, alerting the company owner who was at home and called the police.
When police arrested Pagett they found a car key on him and used to it open his vehicle where two drills and a battery charger with a total value of £1,000 were discovered.
Mrs Price said the victim had put the total cost of temporary and permanent repairs and lost work and time following the burglary at £4,829.
Pagett, of Rowland Gardens, Walsall, was given a 12-month community order including 200 hours of unpaid work. He was ordered to pay compensation of £1,100, costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £85.
In a statement read to the court the victim said he had lost sleep and was now "constantly worried".
In mitigation Mr David Nash said that his client accepted his part in the burglary, but added that he had only been the driver for three other people who took part.
The court was told that Pagett was currently unemployed but was due to start full time work at the end of the month and had no drugs or alcohol problems that were usually related to such crimes.
