Bolton thief stole bike, drill and milk after drug relapse

Philip Parrish, aged 39, pilfered the items from addresses in the Bromley Cross area on February 6.

Parrish, who is of Pole Street, Tonge Moor, broke into the garage of one property before pinching the bottle of milk from outside another while making off from the scene.

Gaby McGrath, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court on March 24 that he entered the garage of the first property at around 4am on the day in question.

She said: “The occupiers of the address were at home at the time of the burglary.

“They said that the garage door had been locked that evening when they went to bed. CCTV places the defendant in the area, walking towards the address.

“He was caught on Ring doorbell footage at the offence location. He was seen leaving the garage at 4.10am with a bicycle and a bag in hand.”

The stolen bicycle was worth £1400, with a Dewalt drill worth £140 and a ratchet worth £20 also being stolen.

The court heard that the ratchet was recovered, but that the other items were not.

He was then seen on further doorbell footage at 4.29am, “stealing a bottle of milk” from another address nearby.

Parrish was identified by police from the footage and arrested the following day.

At interview he said that he “did not remember the last week”, following “multiple overdoses” of various drugs.

When shown the footage he said: “If it was me, I am sorry.”

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss)

Parrish pleaded guilty to burglary of a dwelling and theft at a previous date.

He had 30 previous convictions for 74 offences, many of which were theft-related.

A victim who was in the house when Parrish burgled it said how he felt “spooked and angry” that someone had entered his property, while the person whose milk was stolen said that, while it was of a small monetary value, that “it is the principle” and that “nobody should be able to get away with any theft”.

Defending, Rachael Woods said that he recognises that these were “serious matters”, but described his offending as “pretty unsophisticated”.

She said: “The defendant had relapsed due to a personal crisis, his cousin, who he regarded as a brother, had passed away 10 days previously.”

Ms Woods said it “hit him very hard” and he began using alcohol, diazepam and other drugs, suffering “three overdoses”, before committing the crimes.

But she said that Parrish has been doing “very well” in prison, being substance-free and having a “trusted position” in the kitchen.

Sentencing, Judge Abigail Hudson reflected on how the burglaries were “extremely distressing” to the victims.

She reflected on his “wealth of previous convictions”, saying that the mandatory minimum sentence was triggered, but acknowledged that he was suffering “significant distress” following his bereavement.

Judge Hudson also recognised his relapse into drugs, but said: “The reality is, that relapse made you a danger to those around you and a risk to the general public.”

She said that only custody was appropriate, giving him 29 months imprisonment.