Bungling burglar falls through store roof

To avoid capture, Mark Roddis (28) climbed back above the shop and made peepholes in the ceiling so he could observe staff below going about their business.

When he thought all the staff had left for the day and believed it was safe to escape he dropped down again—only to find himself trapped in a storeroom.

Sheffield Crown Court heard desperate gambling addict Mark Roddis, raided the store to try and stave off his mounting £27,000 debts.

It was the second time the hapless burglar failed to get cash after raiding shop premises—he abandoned an earlier break-in elsewhere when he set off an alarm.

But Judge Alan Goldsack allowed Roddis to walk free with a suspended jail term saying: “Given the unusual circumstances of these offences I don't think there is any benefit to the public in actually sending you to prison.”

Roddis, from Dinnington, admitted burglary and possessing a bladed article.