Burglary proved thirsty work for jailed pub thief (From Ledbury Reporter)

Burglary proved thirsty work for jailed pub thief

1:20pm Friday 8th June 2012 in News

A MEMBER of a gang of burglars was caught because he was thirsty, a court was told.

Andrew Gibney was jailed for 27 months for his part in a pub burglary after he admitted driving the car that carried three other men from Liverpool to Gloucestershire in search of places to burgle.

They broke into the Black Dog pub in Newent, and one intruder approached the landlord wanting to know where the safe was, but was scared off by the pub dog.

Gibney, 24, is the only member of the gang who has been caught after he asked one of the burglars to get him a drink.

When they left the pub, taking a large amount of property and nearly £1,800 in cash, they took him a bottle of Budweiser. He drank it, leaving the bottle behind, and forensic tests found traces of his DNA.

Lisa Hennessy, prosecuting, said Gibney, of Lyme Cross Road, Liverpool, had admitted being one of the gang who broke into the Newent pub on November 22, 2010.

Defending, Jason Coulter said Gibney was unable to work due to an accident and was self-medicating with cannabis to allieve the pain in his leg.

He was in debt to cannabis dealers and had unwillingly agreed to take part in the raid to reduce the debt.

Gibney was jailed for a total of 27 months, which included one month concurrent for the breach of a suspended sentence.