A serial burglar who broke into a couple’s new home as they were about to move has been told by a judge to keep his “thieving hands” off other people’s property - or face jail.

Julian Ward, of Beacon Fields, Camborne, appeared at Truro Crown Court on Friday (March 22), where he pleaded guilty to one count of burglary.

Llewellyn Sellick, for the prosecution, told the court how the couple were about to move into their home on Stray Park Road in Camborne in early October 2017, when 48-year-old Ward struck.

“The couple were about to move in when they returned to the house on the morning of October 6, and found that the house had been burgled," Mr Sellick said.

“The defendant gained entry by smashing a rear window, and left the patio door wide open.

“A number of boxes and cases were searched, and what was missing was some jewellery with a monetary value of about £1,000, of high sentimental value.

“The defendant was linked to the burglary through DNA, and a shoe print found matched the defendant’s shoes.”

In two police interviews Ward gave no comment, and in a third interview he tried to blame someone else.

In a statement, one of the victims said: “I was totally upset and shocked that someone would break into my home before I even spent my first night at the address. I feel totally numbed and shocked, I know this happens but you don’t expect it to happen to you.”

Deni Matthews, for the defence, said: “He has a poor record, but there is a considerable reduction in the frequency of his offending.

“This is a man who is approaching 50, who is moving away from the more frequent and more serious offending.”

Sentencing Ward to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years, Judge Robert Linford told him: “While moving into their home you took the opportunity to break in and rifle through possessions and steal jewellery. 

“The evil of burglary is that when someone’s home has been burgled, they no longer feel safe there.

“You’ve got an appalling history of committing burglary.

“I do not understand why a straightforward domestic burglary has taken all this time to get here (to Truro Crown Court).

“But in that time you’ve served a custodial sentence and worked with the probation service. If I locked you up now, it would undo that good work.

“But if you put your thieving hands on someone’s property again, I will activate that suspended sentence.”

Ward must also abide by a four-month curfew for seven days a week, barring him from leaving his home between 7pm and 7am.

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