Hello, raider! Sailor traps burglar with garden rake
A BURGLAR came a cropper when he found himself face to face with a burly Royal Navy sailor armed with a garden rake.
Leading electrical technician Kev Sproston was doing some gardening when he saw drug addict Mark Purdy trying to flee from a house in Plymouth. The homeless 32-year-old had climbed out of a first-floor window on to a conservatory roof but fell off and hurt his ankle.
Mr Sproston, 26, who is also chairman of the local Neighbourhood Watch, used his Navy perimeter search training to make sure Purdy didn’t escape. He said: ‘I don’t think he expected to see a 16st tattooed matelot carrying a rake. I just made sure there was nowhere for him to go.’
Purdy – who has 21 previous convictions – was jailed for three years at Plymouth crown court for three burglaries and one attempted break-in. Mr Sproston said: ‘He was out of luck that day.’