Town centre booze burglar handed suspended sentence

A THIRSTY burglar was handed a suspended sentence after police caught him red-handed in the aftermath of a break-in in Rotherham town centre where he stole seven bottles of whisky.

At around 1am on Tuesday, police were alerted to an alarm going off at a food store in All Saints' Square.

Following a short foot chase, officers detained a suspect, named as Ian Copeland Barr, close by, said a spokesperson from the Rotherham Central Neighbourhood Policing Team. 

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"Barr was found to be in possession of seven stolen bottles of whisky, immediately arrested and charged the same day with one count of burglary and five shoplifting offences," they added.

Barr, of Winchester Court, appeared at court on Wednesday, and admitted the offence. He was handed a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. 

He was also ordered to carry out a drug rehabilitation requirement. 

Neighbourhood Insp Chris Blake, said: “We know how damaging burglaries are to our communities and we work incredibly hard alongside businesses to protect premises against thieves.

“When premises are targeted, we will do all we can to identify offenders and bring them before the courts.”