A serial burglar whose bungled attempt to steal a boiler caused a water leak into a flat and the shop below has been jailed today.
Drug-addled Craig Stewart Thompson, 35, burgled an empty unfurnished flat on Eastbourne Road, Grove Hill, Middlesbrough.
Water was found leaking through the ceiling into the One Stop Shop beneath on the morning of November 17 last year.
“Intoxicated” Thompson was spotted by police leaving the flat in wet clothes claiming he had come to see a friend.
He was led away by officers after another man was caught inside the property, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Emma Atkinson said the burglars had kicked through a door, smashed a window and tried to remove the boiler, causing the leak.
About £3,000 damage was done to the flat as water pipes and the door needed to be replaced and the property could not be rented out until repairs were complete.
The shop’s ceiling, air-conditioning, fire system and freezers were also damaged.
More than £2,750 worth of stock was lost, along with a day’s trading.
Thompson, of Lansdowne Road, Longlands, Middlesbrough, told police another unnamed man asked him to “help out”.
He later pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to steal and criminal damage, in breach of a community order.
His 68 previous offences included seven burglaries and one attempted burglary.
He has served a five-year sentence for aggravated burglary, and jail terms of three years in 2009 and 29 months in 2012.
As a “three strikes” burglar he faced a prison sentence of at least three years.
Uzma Khan, defending, said Thompson was a prolific drug user for some time but had kept out of trouble since his last release in August 2013.
Associates led him to have a relapse and also introduced him to heroin not long before the burglary.
He was seen taking drugs at the time, could not have a proper conversation when confronted by the shop owner and stayed in the flat even when told police were coming.
Ms Khan said Thompson was remorseful and was tackling his drug problems in prison.
Supported by his family, he wanted to find work and “draw a line under it once and for all”.
Judge Howard Crowson told Thompson: “An enormous amount of damage was caused.
“In your condition I doubt very much you had any appreciation of the amount of damage that was being caused.
“You knew it was unoccupied. To that degree it had been targeted.”
He said Thompson’s background was against him, but a well-written letter told how he had taken advantages of programmes in custody.
“You believe yourself capable of change. I hope that’s right,” he added, jailing Thompson for three years.
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