Doncaster burglar caught 'hiding in canoe' is jailed

Colin Richardson stole a large amount of tobacco from a post office in Huntington, York, in the early hours of June 28.

The intruder alarm was triggered after a glass door was smashed and police rushed to the scene.

A member of the public alerted the officers that two men had been seen fleeing the premises and one appeared to have entered the garden of a nearby property.

North Yorkshire Police said officers searched the garden when one spotted a ‘pair of feet sticking out from under a canoe’ and realised Richardson was laid on the ground hiding underneath it.

He was arrested and officers later found tobacco in a nearby dustbin.

Richardson, aged 32, of Moss Road, Moss in Doncaster, pleaded guilty to burglary and was jailed for 28 months in prison on Wednesday, September 11.

After the hearing, Police Investigator David Pegg, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “This case is a clear example of how important the general public are in helping the police by being our eyes and ears.

“It is thanks to the quick thinking member of the public who spotted Richardson entering a nearby garden and reported this to the police, that we were able to locate and arrest him – despite his attempt at a disguise behind the canoe.

“His actions have targeted a small business, causing extensive damage and his sentencing reflects the severity of his crime.”