Cheeky burglar who hid fake money between his buttocks jailed
A burglar who targeted pubs, hotels and cafes and stole more than £10,000 in a string of raids has been locked up for five years.
Martin Joseph Ward, of no fixed address but formerly from Holyhead, admitted raiding two hotels and a cafe during a spate of burglaries across North west Wales last autumn.
The 42-year-old also admitted stealing a safe from a flat above a pub in Beaumaris and breaking into another hotel in the resort intending to steal.
Ward also admitted trying to pass a fake £50 and possessing similar fake money in a shop in Blackpool in April 2015.
Jailing Ward Judge Huw Rees said: “This was a serious spate of dishonesty by you, a seasoned burglar and a thief.”
The court heard Ward stole £5,000 from a filing cabinet at the Tal y Don Hotel, Barmouth last October by simply walking into an office.
Jade Dufail, prosecuting, said CCTV footage showed two men enter a staff only area and the older of the two, Ward, enter the office.
She added a similar offence happened a month later at the Glan Aber Hotel in Betws y Coed. CCTV footage showed two men in the office area with one of them opening a safe after searching for a key. They took £525 from the safe.
“Staff at the Fisherman’s Cafe in Conwy found £4,000 was missing from a safe on November 20. Two men were seen to sneak into the office and later leave when CCTV footage was watched,” she said.
On Christmas Eve a safe was stolen from a flat above the Bold Arms in Beaumaris.
It contained £1,200 the court heard. In January a manager at the George & Dragon pub in Beaumaris was surprised to find a man asking him for the toilet in a staff area added Ms Dufail.
She said the other man remains at large but police are hunting for him.
Ward, who is known to have used 28 alias’ in the past, had 13 previous convictions for burglary and had spent significant spells in prison.
Ms Dufail said staff at a Spar shop in Blackpool became suspicious of a £50 note presented by Ward and called police.
Officers later found five other fake £50 including two clenched between his buttocks.
Eight other fake £50 notes were found at his address in Blackpool.
Jonathan Austin, defending, said Ward had a long history of abusing illegal drugs and had been drawn back into criminal behaviour by others.
“He was under great pressure to do so and while he made some gain, others gained more than him,” he said.
“Violated”
Speaking after the case, PC Nat Tookey, investigating officer, said: “When an individual invades your home and steals property that is either sentimental, valuable or indeed both it is not uncommon for victims to feel violated.
“It is therefore reassuring and welcoming the criminal justice system shares our concern and imposes custodial sentences on those few in our communities intent on disrupting and disregarding the lives of others.
“I welcome the sentence and hope it will provide our local communities with the firm reassurance that North Wales Police will relentlessly pursue those individuals who break the law. There will be no hiding place.”
