A bungling burglar is back behind bars after being snared by text messages in which he boasted about his criminality.
Prolific house burglar Christopher Lock decided to come clean about his offending on the first day of his trial as a result of overwhelming evidence which came from his own phone.
Among messages found was one referring to him doing a bit of “graft” – a street term for going out to commit burglary.
Others said he had sold a stolen car for an ‘eighth’ – a term used describe an eigth of an ounce of cannabis, worth around £20.
Lock, 20, of Fairfield Crescent, Bramley, was jailed for three-and-a-half years for burglary.
The break-in at the property on Kellett Road, Wortley, on November 8 last year was carried out just 10 days after he was released on licence from prison for other burglary offences. Lock stole a Honda Civic and a laptop from the property and was seen using the vehicle the next day.
His phone records also linked him to a taxi journey taken to the area shortly before the break-in. Det Sgt Mick Casey, of North West Leeds CID, said: “We were able to quickly identify and arrest Lock who went onto provide us with a series of helpful text messages. These played a significant part in the strong prosecution case brought against him and undoubtedly resulted in Lock’s guilty plea on the first day of his trial.”