Thief walked in to a barrow-load of trouble with cops

He nicked tools and plants from garden

A chancer was caught with a wheelbarrow full of swag following a vandalism attack at a popular community garden.

Jobless Kevin McGettigan, 40, thought he had landed lucky when he came across the barrow containing tools, plants and seeds from Waterworks Community Garden.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard the accused was stopped by earlymorning patrol cops in Glasgow Road, in Barrhead, on May 22 last year.

However McGettigan, of the town’s Waulkmill Road, told fibs to the police that the barrow was in fact his, even though he had stumbled on it.

Fiscal depute Emma Jeffrey told the court: “The accused was walking in Glasgow Road when he came across numerous items of gardening equipment, plants and pots, in a wheelbarrow from a nearby community garden.

“A witness had contacted police about a fire at the community garden and police who were in attendance stopped the accused and spoke to him about the wheelbarrow.

“The accused told police it was his property, which he used to carry out gardening for family and friends.”

The cops who let him go then attended the community garden, which had been targeted in a fire attack and a break-in, and noticed the plants and items were similar to those in McGet t i gan’s possession.

They traced him to his home address where he was detained and taken to Helen Street Police Station in Govan where he was cautioned and charged.

The accused pleaded guilty to charges of reset when he appeared at court.

Defence agent Charlie McCusker said: “My client was simply walking to a garage early in the morning to get cigarettes and a soft drink when he discovered the wheelbarrow next to the community garden.

“He had no involvement in the fire- raising or break- in. Police spoke to him about the wheelbarrow and he lied to them.

“It was opportunistic that he saw the wheelbarrow and he took it.

“He accepts he lied to police. There was full recovery of the all of the items.”

Sheriff Seith Ireland told the accused: “People finding things just help themselves.

“You were thinking it was some bonanza when clearly you should have taken it to police or to some authority so it can handed back to its rightful owner.”

He fined the accused £ 300 reduced from £400 because of his guilty plea.