Meadowbank thief jailed after driving 100 miles to steal quad bike

After Joshua Faley was handed a 16-month prison term at Carlisle Crown Court, police welcomed the sentence and said it showed they “mean business” in the fight against rural crime.

Faley (pictured), of Jordan Crescent, Meadowbank, and an unidentified man were seen by officers in darkness in the Tebay area of Cumbria on February 9 last year having travelled in a Transit van.

Police aiming to crack down on countryside burglaries were already on the lookout for criminals when a man reported suspicious activity.

Officers found the unoccupied Transit van down an isolated farm track with a screwdriver and knife on the dashboard.

“There was a ramp in the rear that would allow motorbikes and the like to be wheeled into the van,” said prosecutor  Ms Clare Thomas.

Two figures were spotted and one, Faley, was arrested. 

He claimed he and the other man were in Cumbria to go “ratting” with a dog.

But police found unemployed Faley had received a text the previous night which asked: “You want to go for a quad tonight?”

It emerged three quad bikes - worth a total of £11,500 - had been pinched from remote farm buildings, although all were recovered.

Jane Foley, giving mitigation for Faley, a 23-year-old father-to-be, said: “He went along with it. He was stupid and he clearly was very foolish indeed.

“It is not something he has done before, and he tells me it is not something he will be doing again.”

Faley admitted two counts of burglary and theft of the quad bikes, and was jailed last Wednesday.

Mr Justice William Davis learned that during the past two years, 51 quad bikes had been stolen from Cumbria. 

Sentencing Faley, Mr Justice Davis said: “It is perfectly obvious that this was a completely dishonest trip from start to finish.”

He added: “The evidence I have makes it perfectly plain that people travelling distances to steal valuable farm equipment and livestock are extremely prevalent.”

Following the court hearing, Cumbria police PC John Spriggs, one of the officers who caught Faley, said: “This sends out the message that we mean business.”

Det Con Lauren Carruthers added: “Cumbria’s isolated and rural communities can fall victim to theft and burglaries carried out by criminals travelling from outside the county.

“Cumbria Constabulary takes this type of crime extremely seriously.

“Officers and staff have been running a number of multi-agency operations to target this type of offending.

“We certainly are not an easy target. This type of sentence shows burglars who think they are coming for an easy day out in Cumbria they face a lengthy spell in jail.”