A man has been sentenced to a total of 12 months in jail following two burglaries in North Baddesley

Adam Welch, 30, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Friday, 4 March after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary at an earlier hearing.

The court heard that on Thursday, 9 December 2021, just before 3.30am, police received a report of a light being shone inside a house on Thomas Road, North Baddesley. 

Upon arrival, officers heard a noise coming from the back of the house. They ran into the garden and a short time later located Welch hiding under a wheelbarrow in a neighbouring garden.

Welch was wearing gloves and during a search, officers found a screwdriver and a head-torch in his pockets.  

Officers went back to the house and located a window that had been forced open and a number of tools left inside the property.

An immersion tank that had been detached from an interior wall was located outside the house along with a backpack containing copper pipes.  

Following forensic examinations, items located in the house were linked to Welch.  

In an earlier, separate incident, Welch was identified on CCTV as being responsible for breaking into the Red Cross charity store in North Baddesley.

The court heard that on Monday, 6 September 2021, a shop volunteer opened the store and found that it had been burgled.

Items including a charity tin, cash float and a number of watches and items of jewellery had been stolen.  

CCTV footage captured a man loitering around the charity shop and later leaving the shop through a window. Following further CCTV analysis, Adam Welch was identified as the man in the footage.    

DNA samples from the inside handle of the window were also analysed and matched that of Welch.

Welch admitted both counts of burglary at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday, 26 January.  

Welch was also found to be in breach of a community order at the time he carried out the burglary at the Red Cross charity shop.

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court on Friday, 4 March, Welch was sentenced to 9 months in jail for the two burglaries and 3 months in jail for breach of a community order, making it a total of 12 months in jail.

Police officers hope this reassures local communities that they take burglaries extremely seriously, and will investigate all available lines of enquiry to identify offenders and bring them to justice.