Shropshire Star

Charity box thief also stole from shop

A man stole a charity box from a hotel and sold stolen goods to a shop, in a "misguided attempt to increase the family finances", a court has been told.

Published

Matthew William Thomas Radburn, 29, of Temple Drive, Llandrindod Wells, admitted stealing a Pancreatic Cancer charity box from the Metropole Hotel on May 7 2018 and selling stolen silver plated goods worth £100 belonging to Robert Clement on April 17.

Prosecuting at Llandrindod Wells Magistrates Court, Stephen Davies said that on April 10, Wendy Hyatt was in Eco Chic, in Builth Wells, when Radburn offered to sell her some silver plated items. She bought some items for £20.

A few days later he returned and she paid him £5 but on April 24 she declined to buy anything.

The items purchased included a silver napkin ring, a silver tie pin and a cross, silver teaspoons and fish slices.

On April 24, Robert Clement noticed an item had disappeared from his shop and it was in Miss Hyett’s shop.

Radburn was arrested and said he had sold the items after getting them from "a local smack head in the Rock Park".

He said he had thrown some items in the bin and it had crossed his mind that the items may have been stolen.

The items have been recovered and returned to Mr Clement.

On May 10, Lauren Jones, deputy manager at the Metropole Hotel noticed a charity box had gone missing. On CCTV, a male with a tea towel in one hand could be seen in the bar area while it was closed. He took the charity box and left. The manager, Dave Batten, identified Radburn.

Gareth Walters, defending, said Radburn had an unenviable record of previous offences.

He said both offences happened within a short space of time when Radburn’s Job Seekers Allowance had stopped for four weeks and his family only had enough food for three days.

Radburn told his wife and child to eat and he went to the Metropole, looking for food but he stole the charity box.

Mr Walters said Radburn has been out of trouble since 2015 when his child was born and he got married but old habits die hard when he was desperate.

Magistrates placed Radburn on a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work and 15 Rehabilitation Days to address his thinking skills, alcohol use and employment issues.

He was ordered to pay £25 compensation to Eco Chic shop, £20 compensation to Pancreatic Cancer, £85 costs and a £85 surcharge.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.