Soldier faces sentencing after he stole a motorcycle which he had agreed to deliver

Chesterfield magistrates’ court heard on September 25 how Thomas Anthony Paisley, 23, stole the motorcycle when he was at Tibshelf motorway service station and reported to police that it had been stolen by someone else to cover his tracks.

Prosecuting solicitor Becky Allsop said the motorcycle had originally been bought by a man from the Chesterfield area who had seen it for sale on Facebook but the bike was in Ashbourne and needed collecting so Paisley stepped-in and agreed to deliver the vehicle for £40.

Mrs Allsop added: “The bike did not arrive and the complainant made contact with the defendant and Mr Paisley said he had been to McDonald’s at Tibshelf and the bike had been stolen.

“Mr Paisley also reported the theft of the motorcycle to police.”

Police spoke to Paisley two days later, according to Mrs Allsop, and he confessed his van had not been broken into and he had stolen the motorcycle and taken it to an unknown location.

Paisley told police that while he is serving in the Army he uses his van to drop-off and collect items and he took a job to collect and deliver the bike but decided to steal it and take it to Nottingham.

He added that his marriage had broken down and he had been making bad decisions and he had got involved with the wrong type of people.

The defendant, who is based at Picton Barracks, on Rawlinson Road, at Bulford Camp, Wiltshire, pleaded guilty to the theft from August 15 and admitted wasting police time by making a false report on the same date.

Paisley told the court: “I have nothing to say really. I have made stupid mistakes due to my marriage breaking down and I was not on the right medication at the time and I got involved with the wrong people. I’m sorry.”

The defendant, who is of previous good character, had originally been due in court on September 21 but failed to attend because he claimed he had not received the correspondence requesting him to do so.

Magistrates released Paisley on unconditional bail and his case was adjourned until a sentencing hearing on October 2 at Salisbury magistrates’ court.