Southsea burglar chased on train escapes capture after planning heist before law catches up with him

The incident at Guildford train station on January 3, 2021, saw train staff alerted to Southsea criminal Max George after he was smoking cannabis with an accomplice.

Staff gave chase before George, 21, ran to the back of a carriage where he hid a black rucksack.

The bag was later found to have bolt croppers, a crowbar and a pair of gloves inside he planned to use for a bike theft.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how George, of Boulton Road, was initially caught after a member of public had assisted staff and British Transport Police who had entered the carriage.

Despite this, George ‘managed to escape’ before he was later arrested at home.

Prosecutor Leigh Hart said delays in the case being brought to court meant the charges for possessing cannabis and escaping capture did not materialise after they were ‘not made out’.

The court heard the incident put George in breach of an 18-month suspended order for two years he was given in October 2020 for burglary and attempted burglary offences.

Daniel Reilly, defending, said George was ‘immature’ at the time and had since grown up and cut his association with his accomplice. ‘Probation said he had begun to turn his life around and grow up,’ he said.

George admitted a single offence of going equipped to steal but had cleaned up his act since then.

The court heard the defendant had a history of dishonesty with 25 offences to his name.

Judge David Melville KC told George he had ‘grown up’ since the offence and warned him to ‘stay away’ from his accomplice - and drugs.

‘Smoking cannabis is likely to cause mental ill health and lead to long-term brain damage. You would be well advised to drop it,’ he said.

The judge opted to spare George jail after deciding it was ‘unjust’ to activate the suspended sentence.

Instead George was handed an eight-week jail term suspended for two years, told to pay 50 hours of unpaid work, and told to pay a £100 fine for breaching his previous suspended sentence.

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