Doncaster burglar committed week-long thieving spree on bail

Ashley Fox broke in through the roof of The Jam Horse, on Scot Lane, and took £40 in cash, a laptop and two T-shirts, on December 3, said prosecutor Stephanie Hollis.

He was stopped two days later by police with £360 of cocaine and heroin on Broxholme Lane.

"When he was challenged about the burglary, he said "You're joking,"" said Ms Hollis.

He received bail at Doncaster Magistrates Court on December 7, but three days later he caused £6,000 of damage when he broke into flats above a jewellery store on St Sepulchre Gate.

Fox was unable to gain access to the shop but stole two T-shirts worth £50, and exited via a firedoor and the drain pipe.

A woman in a first floor flat on the High Street, Doncaster, was awoken by noise at 2am, on December 14.

"At first she thought it was her flatmate," said Ms Hollis. "Then she heard a knock at the door. She saw the door handle move slightly and the door was opened.

"She asked who it was, but the door was closed and the person walked away."

The woman wrapped a blanket around herself and went into the hall where she found Fox carrying a bag.

"He said he was homeless and looking for blankets because he was cold," Ms Hollis told the court.

After checking the bag she let him leave, but it was only the next morning when her flatmate reported the theft of £550 in cash and a smart watch that she realised what had happened.

Three days later Fox broke through a barred rear window at the Bodyrockers Dance Studio, on King Street, Thorne, causing £250 to £300 of damage.

He stole a sack of Christmas presents intended for two childrens' parties, which had to be cancelled the next day, as well as £20 in cash.

Fox stole cash, a camera, an i-Pad and a laptop from a 78-year-old woman's home on Netherhall Road, on the same night.

He was arrested at 8.30am the next day in the Frenchgate centre with the laptop and items from the studio.

The court heard he has 16 previous convictions, including burglary and beginning with criminal damage when he was 17.

Andrew Swabey, mitigating, said Fox has had a drug problem for many years, with periods of no offending between 2007 and 2016, when he was working and on a methadone prescription.

"More recently, having had a good period, he's unfortunately drifted into using drugs and it has spiralled out of control," he said.

"His remorse is reflected in his guilty pleas. It is out of character for him to break into dwellings."

Fox, 40, of Senior Road, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to all the December 3 and 5 offences, at the magistrates' court, and admitted the rest at Sheffield Crown Court.

On Thursday Recorder Matthew Happold sentenced him to a total of 33 months in prison.