Career thief used angle grinder in bid to steal Leeds city-centre cash machine

CCTV captured Michael William Stanness and two unnamed accomplices trying to cut through the surround of the cashpoint at the Corn Exchange at around 5am on May 25. With the police alerted by camera operators, they watched him force a section open which contained bank cards swallowed up by the machine.

Officer quickly arrived and found Stanness still at the scene, prosecutor Rhianydd Clement told Leeds Crown Court. Along with the angle grinder, they found him carrying four replacement saw blades for the tool, five screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, a crowbar and four bank cards that he had snatched from the ATM.

The 47-year-old, of no fixed address, appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand. He admitted criminal damage, theft and going equipped for theft. He has 106 convictions for 207 offences. Of those, there are 134 offences for theft dating between 1990 and 2022.

He was last jailed in December last year for eight weeks for shoplifting. Prior to that, he was jailed in July 2022 after burgling two city-centre businesses.

Mitigating, Ian Hudson said: “He was in a desperate state and was homeless at the time. He wants to move away from the Leeds area on his release so he can get away from the negative influences in his life.”

Judge Ray Singh jailed Stanness for eight months.