Hindley burglar stole £10,000 of goods from family home

Nicholas Taylor, 43, forced his way into the home on Lakeside Avenue, Bolton, on Sunday, January 29, this year where he then spent 45 minutes searching through the property.

He was seen by neighbours and caught on CCTV, which alerted the family that their home had been broken into.

David James, prosecuting, said: “Regrettably they were unable to get home before the defendant escaped with their property.”

He added: “For anyone who’s family home has been violated, there is always a sense of loss and violation.”

Nicholas Taylor broke into a family home (Image: Newsquest)

Mr James told the court how Taylor, of Castle Hill  Road, Hindley, had used a trolley belonging to the home owners to cart away jewellery and other items, including PlayStation games, worth around £10,000 in total.

But he was caught after the father of the family tracked him to a shop using a device on a laptop that Taylor, who has 17 previous convictions for 25 offences going back to 1999, had stolen.

He was caught on CCTV with the trolley of stolen of stolen goods, while he was also seen by staff at Royal Bolton Hospital, where he had been treated, with £200 he apparently had not had before.

Taylor, who appeared before the court via video link from prison, was arrested by police soon afterwards and, according to Mr James, showed an incredibly "flippant" attitude about his crimes.

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Mr James said: “He made incredibly crude remarks when asked what he did in the property.

“He seemed to think the damage he had caused in the property was amusing.”

But despite this, Taylor pleaded guilty to burglary at his first appearance before the magistrates court.

Laura Broome, defending, argued that Taylor deserved credit for admitting to his crime and told the court that he had since shown a much more remorseful attitude.

She said: “He has very little recollection of this offence.

“He was, he accepts, under the influence of heroin at the time.”

But Ms Broome said that Taylor had been "very unwell" at the time and that the burglary had been "unsophisticated" and "opportunistic".

She claimed he now wanted to express how sorry he was for his actions and how determined he was to work to address his addictions.

But Judge Eliot Knopf said that he was still concerned by the effect Taylor had had on his victims and his behaviour after being caught.

Addressing the defendant, he said: “You appear to have adopted a very flippant attitude towards the matter, making crude comments and appearing to find the matter very amusing.”

But Judge Knopf accepted that Taylor’s attitudes may changed during his time on remand.

He said: “You may well feel remorse in the cold light of day for what you have done.”

He added: “I do hope you will take advantage of your time in custody to reflect on your situation.”

Judge Knopf sentenced Taylor to a total of 20 months in prison.