Burgled Leeds resident turned detective to track down culprit on Vinted fashion website
Thief tried to flog unique stolen items online
A resident whose home was burgled managed to find the man responsible, tracking him down on a fashion website.
The victim recognised his own customised trainers for sale on Vinted, a second-hand clothes site, where he arranged to buy pairs from the seller but without revealing his identity.
He was then able to obtain the sender’s address - which turned out to be Daniel Glassford.
Glassford later admitted burgling the address on Richmond Hill. He was handed a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court.
Prosecutor Richard Canning said that the victim had come home on the evening of November 27, 2024, to find two bottle of cognac had been taken, a £200 bottle of aftershave and 10 pairs of specially-made trainers worth £3,000.
Having reported the crime, the victim then began trawling the internet and found pairs of his trainers available for sale on Vinted.
Communicating with 41-year-old Glassford and obtaining his address, he was then arrested. He was found in possession of some of the trainers.
Only two pairs of the 10 were recovered.
Glassford, of Haslewood Drive, Burmantofts, has previous convictions for handling stolen goods and burglaries.
Mitigating, Martin Morrow said Glassford was “genuinely remorseful” and had been motivated by his financial struggles and the prospect of losing his accommodation after the breakdown of his relationship.
He said the father-of-six lost his job but “had the capacity to change”.
The judge, Recorder Ruwena Khan jailed him for 18 months, suspended for 18 months.
She ordered him to complete 20 rehabilitation days with probation, a three-month curfew and ordered him to complete the 26-session Building Choices programme.