02nd February 2012
Bungling burglars book taxi as getaway vehicle
Two burglars who used a taxi to haul their goods were easily caught, after ordering the vehicle without using an alias.
Kevin Forrester and Robert Scullion stole electrical equipment worth thousands of pounds from the garden log cabin of Kevin Banker in Haverhill.
They put the items into a shopping trolley from a nearby supermarket and then loaded them into a taxi.
Unfortunately for them, when they called out the "getaway vehicle", they carelessly booked it in Mr Forrester's real name.
Mr Forrester was also a regular customer of the taxi company.
Police were alerted by the taxi driver, who reported the suspicious nature of the journey.
After receiving information from the taxi firm as well as members of the general public, officers were able to locate Mr Scullion's home in Montford Court.
There they found and arrested the culprits and recovered Mr Banker's possessions.
Originally, the pair had broken into the log cabin looking for a place to sleep, but acted on impulse when they found the electrical items.
The damage to the cabin and to Mr Banks' CCTV system, were estimated to cost more than £1,000.
Haverhill police inspector Peter Ferrie told the Haverhill Echo that "you couldn't make this up".
"These bungling burglars used their real names to pick it up in the taxi, have not got a getaway vehicle, and then had it all delivered to his home address, so we couldn’t really fail with this one," he said.
Lyndon Davies, for Mr Forrester, described the theft as "unsophisticated" and the recovery of the stolen goods as "unsurprising".
“Very unsurprisingly, given Mr Forrester’s actions by giving his own name, the police are contacted and the items are recovered pretty much straight away," he said.
Mr Forrester has a number of convictions for previous offences, including burglary.
Last April, he was given a 12-month community service order from magistrates.
The pair are currently awaiting sentencing.
Posted by David Leonard
Did you know that UIA offers competitive rates on house insurance? Take advantage of our new offer - 25% off all UIA House Insurance prices - apply online.
back to news