Southport burglar jailed the day after he commits crime

A 40-year-old Southport man has been jailed for 12 weeks for stealing power tools from garden sheds.Gregory Hawkshaw, of Park Street pleaded guilty to stealing from sheds on Cumberland Road and Rutland Road at North Sefton Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Angela Conlon, prosecuting, told the court the incident occurred at about 3.45am on Monday, August 29. She said: “The householder on Rutland Road called the police to say she had spotted two figures walking down her garden path.
“Officers were deployed to the location, and the police received a second report which said that two males had been seen in a garden on Cumberland Road.”
Officers arrested Hawkshaw and another accomplice – not the person who had been in the gardens with him – who had spotted in the bushes by officers.
This youth cannot be named for legal reasons. He pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and will be sentenced next week.
Ms Conlon said: “Hawkshaw told police he had no money for food and he had gone from garden shed to garden shed looking for something to steal so he could sell it.” Ms Conlon said he had gone into the gardens with someone but that person left without taking anything. He called the youth to help him move the stolem items.
Defence solicitor Graham Halliwell said: “My client has made an early guilty plea and assisted the police with the recovery of other stolen goods.” Mr Halliwell asked for Hawkshaw to be given a community-based penalty, but magistrates senctenced Hawkshaw to 12 weeks.

(reproduced from the Southport Visiter, 1st Sept 2011)

Gardien Tip: See our article on Shed Security at http://www.garden-security.co.uk/shed-security-print.htm