17th February 2012
Students find 'ham burglar' in kitchen
A 'burglar' who stole turkey ham from his victim's kitchen in Bangor bit off more than he could chew.
Twenty-year-old Oliver Dowsett was tackled by the four occupants of a university flat after he raided their fridge and stole some rolling tobacco from their lounge.
One of the residents, a female student, reported waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of a man's voice coming from the kitchen.
She overheard him saying: "Mmm, ham."
Shortly thereafter, she received a phone call from a female flat mate, who said that a stranger had just opened the door of her bedroom.
That was when the four residents of the home tackled Mr Dowsett who, like them, was a student at Bangor University at the time.
They restrained him and called the police.
However, Mr Dowsett denied that he was trying to burgle the flat.
Instead, he said that he had been out drinking and met a girl who invited him back to her place.
According to Mr Dowsett, he entered the flat, realised his mistake, and simply stole the turkey ham and tobacco on his way out.
The door of the property, rather unwisely, had been left unlocked for one of the other tenants to get in.
Mr Dowsett was given a 44-week youth custody sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was placed on supervision.
He was also told to pay damages of £500.
Anne Pope, defending, said that the young man was "conscientious and polite" and aware that he had done "something extremely stupid that night".
As a result, he was not given the maximum possible sentence of youth custody for up to two years.
It was also in Mr Dowsett's favour that he had done no damage or disturbance in the flat, aside from stealing some tobacco and ham.
Posted by Victor Onuohae
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