Gotcha! Crooked glazing contractor Steven Roberts caught stealing on customer's CCTV
Contractor Steven Roberts
caught stealing a copper tank on CCTV from the home of Mark
Hicks
by Chris Hunter
This is the moment a crooked double glazing contractor was
spotted burgling a house... on his customer's personal CCTV
system.
Tonbridge man Mark Hicks thought something was up when he
noticed a copper tank had gone missing from outside his house in
Streamside.
And when he looked over the day's CCTV recording, it was pretty
obvious who the culprit was - Supaglazing contractor Steven
Roberts.
The 35-year-old, from Wainscott, near Rochester, is shown
here loading the first of his finds into his Supaglazing branded
van.
Roberts, who pleaded guilty to the burglary at
Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court, had been let into the house by Mr
Hicks's wife.
But he returned later that day when Mrs Hicks was out and
bagged goods worth £1,190, including the copper tank, a camera and
a pair of binoculars.
Magistrates gave him a suspended prison sentence, and ordered he
do 200 hours' unpaid work, as well as pay compensation of £100 and
£85 costs.
But 40-year-old Mr Hicks, a father of two pictured
left, said the sentence was not enough - and was now
considering suing Supaglazing.
"It's absolutely horrifying," he said.
Describing how it felt to watch the burglary take place, he
said: "Thoughts can't describe it - the feeling of violation is
horrible."
He added: "My wife has spent many a day since upset about it.
Every time she looks at the window it's a constant reminder. She
had to deal with the guy face to face.
"When I showed her the CCTV she was absolutely distraught."
Supaglazing said Roberts was not an employee, but had carried
out work as a contractor.
It was no longer going to use him, said a spokesman, who did not
wish to make any further comment or give their name.
15/11/12
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