Thief caused £40,000 damage to church stealing £10 loose change

A THIEF caused nearly £40,000 of damage after hiding inside Winchester Cathedral in order to steal a collections box after it had closed for the night.

Paul Wild stole £10 from the charity donation box before clambering over chests containing the bones of several kings and kicking out panels of stained glass windows to make his escape. He fell 25ft from a window, breaking both his ankles in what Winchester Crown Court heard described as “perhaps a Biblical punishment”.

On the night of the theft a policeman saw Wild crawling near a taxi rank but assumed him to be drunk.

But when PC Ben Vanes was called to the scene of the theft, he made the connection and later tracked down the 34-year-old heroin addict. During his escape, Wild had managed to damage six mortuary chests at the cathedral which held bones of Saxon kings from more than 1,000 years ago.

Christopher Wing, prosecuting, said Wild’s £100-a-day crack and heroin habit led him to hide himself under the altar table until the cathedral was closed in order to steal the cash.

“He then found himself unable to get out, so he climbed around the carvings and tombs and mortuary chests,” said Mr Wing.

“These items are of significant historical importance. They are damaged and it will cost a lot of money to repair them. In order to make his way out Wild kicked out panels of stained glass windows which were last restored in the 19th century.” Wild suffered five fractures when he fell to the ground.

Wild told police he sometimes went to the cathedral to pray. He admitted burglary and criminal damage estimated at £37,867. Nicholas Cotter, for Wild, said the addict’s life had been blighted by drugs and the need to find money which had led to a string of offences.

He said the broken bones were “perhaps a Biblical punishment” and that Wild was still in pain. He said the damage was not malicious but reckless as his client tried to escape.

Wild was jailed for 20 months.