Jail for burglar who targeted school
A burglar who raided a primary school has been put behind bars and told he has affected the education of young children.
Ian Smith forced his way into Grange Park School in Sunderland last August via a fire exit door and caused more than £2,000 worth of loss and damage.
The school’s headteacher told police in a victim impact statement: “Replacing and repairing items will come from the budget for the equipment of the children at the school.”
Newcastle Crown Court heard the 27-year-old raider had forced a fire exit door to get into the school and had taken two laptops from the headteacher’s office.
He caused damage while trying to enter other areas of the building and forced a kitchen freezer compartment open, which meant all of the food inside was ruined.
Smith, of no fixed address, admitted burglary.
He also pleaded guilty to burglaries at two flats in the city.
One of the flats was next door to an off-licence and Smith, with an accomplice, had kicked at the plasterboard adjoining the wall between the properties to try to access the shop.
The flat tenant, who was home and asleep at the time, said he had been “put in some fear” by the realisation that his home was under attack.
Judge Tim Gittins sentenced Smith, who has a criminal record, to two years and eight months behind bars.
The judge told him: “The invoices for repair work and replacement of computers totals in excess of £2,000.
“Anyone who is aware of the austerity measures in place at the moment realises the sort of tight budgets schools operate on and the fact they are unable to, in those circumstances, easily replace those vital items.
“Your sort of actions, committed, no doubt, in drink, to sell for a fraction of what the items are worth, had a direct effect on young children’s education.
“As the headteacher said, it has had a direct impact on those young children.”
Grange Park Primary headteacher Pauline Wood said: “We did not tell the children there had been a burglary at the school. We managed to shield them from that.
She added: “I am just grateful he did this at a weekend and there was no physical outcome for anybody.
“I would have given him a longer sentence, but then I would give everybody a lot longer.”