Connah's Quay burglar jailed after latest raft of offences

Nicholas Wilcock, of Bethel Place in Connah's Quay, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Tuesday morning to be sentenced.

The 47-year-old, who appeared via link from HMP Berwyn, had previously admitted a raft of offences including three burglaries, four thefts, fraud and four counts of shoplifting.

The court was also asked to take into consideration two offences Wilcock had admitted - which involved theft of clothing from a shop and theft of £200 from a church donation tin.

Karl Scholz, prosecuting, took the court through the offences Wilcock had admitted.

It began with a burglary at Boots storage unit in June last year.

Police were called out in the early hours of the morning after an alarm had been activated.

A door to the detached unit had been left unsecured and the defendant had been captured on CCTV entering and taking various boxes of expired prescription medication which had been due for return and incineration.

There then came four shoplifting offences, which took place in July and August.

On each occasion he'd entered stores with another male and stolen items; the first two involving more than £300 worth of beauty products and the second two involving meat.

Then, between August 5 and 8, Wilcock burgled a home in Ewloe belonging to Leonard Chalk.

Mr Chalk returned home to find an untidy search had been made of the home and numerous power tools had been taken.

Collectively, the tools were worth some £710 and the theft left Mr Chalk unable to work.

On September 6, Wilcock burgled the home of Jenni and Oliver Sweeney in Connah's Quay.

Mrs Sweeney returned home in the afternoon to find the kitchen window had been broken.

Nicholas Wilcock (NWP) (Image: North Wales Police)When the couple checked the property, it was discovered Mr Sweeney's wallet containing bank cards had been taken - as had numerous items of jewellery, an engraved pocket watch, a camera and a Chrome Notebook.

On the same day as the burglary, Wilcock committed fraud by using Mr Sweeney's bank card numerous times at a newsagents.

Police attended the shop in the hope of potentially finding Wilcock - and sure enough he was there at the counter with the stolen cards in his pocket.

Mr Scholz told the court Wilcock has "an appalling record" - namely 30 previous convictions for 74 offences.

Of those, 30 relate to theft, 11 relate to residential burglaries and five relate to non-residential burglaries.

Dafydd Roberts, defending, told the court: "He understands the sentence today will be custody and it will be a significant period.

"In terms of his background, he has a long-standing drug addiction.

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"He had been out in the community for 11 months and was clean when he came out of prison last time.

"He was doing well but fell back into his old ways. He is disappointed in himself."

Mr Roberts told the court his client, in his own words, "is getting too old for all of this now."

Judge Niclas Parry told Wilcock: "I've been around a long time. I haven't seen many worse records for burglary.

"You are what can truly be described as a career burglar. But that well-used phrase hides the fact that people suffer. People are hurt.

"Whilst I must always have an eye on the [sentencing] guidelines - but those guidelines can simply be thrown out of the window because they do not apply in a case where the previous history is so appalling."

The Judge handed down an overall sentence of six-and-a-half years in prison.