Caffe Nero burglar caught after trying to force open safe during raid at shop in Leeds city centre

A burglar was caught by police officers moments after he broke into a Caffe Nero shop in Leeds city centre and tried to force open a safe.
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Iain Thompson was spotted by officers as he came out of the shop on Bond Street in the early hours of May 11 this year.

Leeds Crown Court heard Thompson ran back inside the premises and was arrested as he tried to punch a hole in the roof to escape.

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CCTV camera footage was checked which showed him crawling along the floor in an attempt to avoid detection.

Caffe Nero, Bond Street.Caffe Nero, Bond Street.
Caffe Nero, Bond Street.

Phillip Standfast, prosecuting, said Thompson used a knife to try to open a safe.

There was also evidence that the defendant had tried to open a till.

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Thompson, 48, of Lincoln Green Road, Leeds, made no comment when interviewed but pleaded guilty to burglary.

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The court heard he has 32 previous convictions for 67 offences.

He has 20 convictions for burglary.

Thompson was out of jail of licence for burglary and the time of the offence and was recalled to prison.

Kate Bisset, mitigating, said Thompson is not eligible for release from custody until April next year.

"He doesn't want to do it. He is a family man with a partner."

Judge Rodney Jameson QC gave Thompson a 12-month sentence.

He said: "I do not want to make it any longer,

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"Essentially, what I am hoping to achieve is that you will have a clean sheet at some point so the court can try and find other ways of dealing with you, because it is a waste of your time and our money."