Man, 30, jailed for 12 months following North Baddesley burglaries - including Red Cross charity shop

Adam Welch, 30, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Friday, March 4 after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary at an earlier hearing.

The court heard that on Thursday, December 9, 2021, just before 3.30am, police received a report of a light being shone inside a house on Thomas Road, North Baddesley.

Upon arrival, officers heard a noise coming from the back of the house. They ran into the garden and a short time later located Welch hiding under a wheelbarrow in a neighbouring garden.

Welch was wearing gloves and during a search, officers found a head-torch and a screwdriver in his pockets.

The police went back to the house and located a window that had been forced open and a number of tools left inside the property.

An immersion tank that had been detached from an interior wall was located outside the house along with a backpack containing copper pipes.

Following forensic examinations, items located in the house were linked to Welch.

In an earlier, separate incident, Welch was identified on CCTV as being responsible for breaking into the Red Cross charity store in North Baddesley.

The court heard that on Monday, September 6, 2021, a shop volunteer opened the store and found that it had been burgled.

Items including a charity tin, cash float, and a number of watches and items of jewellery had been stolen.

CCTV footage captured a man loitering around the charity shop and later leaving the shop through a window.

Following further CCTV analysis, Welch was identified as the man in the footage.

DNA samples from the inside handle of the window were also analysed and matched the burglar.

Welch admitted both counts of burglary at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday, January 26.

He was also found to be in breach of a community order at the time he carried out the burglary at the Red Cross charity shop.

SEE ALSO: Suspected drug driver stopped in van and arrested by police as drugs seized

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court on Friday, March 4, Welch was sentenced to nine months in jail for the two burglaries and three months in jail for breaching a community order, making it a total of 12 months in jail.

Hampshire Constabulary hopes that this reassures local communities that they take burglaries extremely seriously and will investigate all available lines of enquiry to identify offenders and bring them to justice.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.