Man jailed after foiled metal theft

A FIFE m an has been jailed for 14 months after a foiled attempt to steal thousands of pounds worth of metal from the building site where he worked.

David Martin, 32, of Macindoe Crescent, Kirkcaldy, yesterday admitted stealing a quantity of copper from the construction site of Edward Nursing Home in Falkland on October 24 2012.

Cupar Sheriff Court heard Martin had intended to steal a vast amount of copper but was rumbled after an anonymous caller told police they had witnessed him jumping over the fence at the Blythe Construction site wearing dark clothing.

When police attended they could hear noises coming from the site.

The Crown said: “Police noticed 200 metres had been pulled from the service runs of the roof of the centre passage ways on the first and second floors of the new structure.

“They also found a crowbar, several empty drink tins, a hat and a jacket with receipts in the pockets relating to the accused.”

When questioned by police Martin said he had simply forgotten to pick up his jacket when he left the site but refused to answer any more questions.

He later told police he had gone back to the site in the early hours of the morning to pick up a vehicle then had gone back to bed.

The court heard the value of the copper Martin intended to steal combined with the damage to the property amounted to £12,000 but the copper he had taken was “unusable”. Defence solicitor Jim Litterick said: “This particular offence was borne out of difficult circumstances.

“In 2011 my client’s world fell apart. He broke up with his partner, lost his job, his house, was not allowed to see his children and suffered from depression.

“He couldn’t get funding for a court order to see his kids and this presented an opportunity for him to get that funding.”

Addressing Martin, Sheriff Charles Macnair said: “You have a bad record including convictions for theft, housebreaking, robbery, wilful damage and other non-analogous offending.

“This was a planned event, and in these circumstances I consider that the only appropriate sentence is one of prison,” the sheriff said.

“This particular offence was borne out of difficult circumstances.”

Jim Litterick