Craig Britton (Image: South Wales Police)
Brazen burglars stole a haul of parcels after sneaking into a postal depot in the dead of night, a court has heard. Craig Britton and Richard Cook took trollies and sacks full of mail away from the building, none of which have ever been recovered and it is unknown exactly what was stolen. Between them the burglars have more than 180 previous offences on their records.
Georgia Donohue, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that on the night of October 28 last year three males were seen to approach the van entrance of the Royal Mail depot in Neath town centre. Two of the men, Britton and Cook, walked into the building through the open shutters and emerged moments later pushing large trollies - known as Yorkies - full of parcels, and carrying bags of parcels. The pair then made off into the night.
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The court heard that around 15 minutes later Britton then went back into the depot and stole another Yorkie. The prosecutor said the thefts were discovered at around midnight when a van arrived to drop off more mail at the depot and the driver found torn parcels scattered on the floor and realised a number of Yorkies were missing.
Britton was identified from CCTV and arrested on suspicion of burglary on November 1, and told officers "I don't do burglaries, mate". In his subsequent interview the 39-year-old denied entering the Neath depot saying he had been in Cardiff on the night in question.
Miss Donohue said it was not possible to say what parcels and letters the pair had stolen, nor put a value on the contents. None of the missing mail has been recovered.
Britton, formerly of Odo Street, Hafod, Swansea, but now of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to non-dwelling burglary when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 43 previous convictions for 84 offences including violence matters, burglary, and thefts. At the time of the burglary he was on licence having been released from a prison sentence imposed for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. In 2014 Britton was sentenced to four years in prison for taking part in a gang robbery of a Ladbrokes betting shop in Briton Ferry.
Britton's accomplice in October's Neath Royal Mail burglary, 31-year-old Cook, has previous been sentenced to nine months in jail for his part in the offence. On that occasion the court heard Cook, of Brynglas Avenue, Cwmavon, has 51 previous convictions for 104 offences, the majority of which are for matters of dishonesty and acquisitive crimes.
A judge called Richard Cook a "persistent and relentless offender" (Image: South Wales Police)
Hannah George, for Britton, said at the time of the burglary the defendant had been in "a very dark place" due to family bereavement and the loss of his job, and was taking drink and drugs to "numb the emotions". She said the defendant was keen to work with agencies to secure stable accommodation upon his release from custody.
Recorder Christian Jowett said taking the circumstances of the offending into account, the aggravating feature of the defendant's previous convictions and the fact he had been out of prison on licence, and the principle of totality with Cook the appropriate sentence after trial would have been one of 12 months in prison. With a 25 per cent discount for his guilty plea Britton was sentenced to nine months in prison. The defendant will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.