Back to jail for prolific burglar
APROLIFIC burglar from Southport who has a criminal record dating back to his childhood, is back behind bars after breaking into a business at Birkdale Trading Estate.
A spokesman for Southport Neighbourhood police team said on Monday: “Following a burglary at Birkdale Trading Estate, Gregory Hawkshaw aged 45 from Southport, has been charged and recalled to prison.”
Hawkshaw had been charged with one count of burglary at Birkdale Trading Estate on May 2. The offence is thought to have happened sometime between 4.50am and 5am.
Hawkshaw is thought to have committed his latest break-in while on licence, triggering his return to prison.
He was jailed in July 2014 for two years and three months for breaking into a garage on Kirkstall Road, Southport, and making off with two expensive mountain bikes.
The owner of the garage had installed CCTV cameras, which recorded Hawkshaw breaking into the garage with his son.
When interviewed, Hawkshaw, denied it was him but his son confessed it was “obvious” who had burgled the bikes.
Hawkshaw senior then admitted to the break-in and a string of other burglaries at four separate houses on Arundel Road.
Rob Jones, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that Hawkshaw had a criminal history dating back to his first burglary conviction when he was just 11.
Jailing Hawkshaw, Judge Clement Goldstone, QC, said: “You say you committed the offences to help pay off your son’s drug debts. You commit offences because you are an inherently dishonest man who was burgling houses and sheds years before your son was born.”
In September 2011 Hawkshaw was jailed for 12 weeks for stealing power tools from garden sheds.
He pleaded guilty to stealing from sheds on Cumberland Road and Rutland Road at North Sefton Magistrates Court.
Angela Conlon, prosecuting, told the court: “The householder on Rutland Road called the police to say she had spotted two figures walking down her garden path.
“Officers were deployed to the location and the police received a second report which said that two males had been seen in a garden on Cumberland Road.”
Ms Conlon added: “Hawkshaw told police he had no money for food and he had gone from garden shed to garden shed looking for something to steal so he could sell it.”