Burglar called taxi from victim’s home phone

Jan 21 2008 by Tony Sicluna, South Wales Echo

A BURGLAR made a £3,000 raid on his neighbour’s home – and then called a taxi on his victim’s phone to make his getaway.

Thief Gareth Waith, 22, was jailed for three years after admitting taking a £3,500 haul from his neighbour’s house in Greenfarm Road, Ely, Cardiff.

Victims Colin Bell, 32, an asbestos remover, Katie Battiscombe, 24, and children Corey, five, and Gabriel, four, were out when Waith broke into the house through a window.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how the Bell family lost their mobile phones, DVD player, laptop computer, 26-inch TV and computer games in the Halloween attack, which had a “massive impact” on the family.

Ms Battiscombe, whose family still fear being burgled again, said today she couldn’t believe Waith’s nerve to call a taxi from her house.

“I couldn’t stop laughing when I found out,” she said.

“The nerve of some people is just unbelievable.

“The thought of him calling a taxi from my house phone and then just sitting on my wall with all my stuff, waiting for it to arrive, is just ridiculous.”

Waith, also of Greenfarm Road, Ely, admitted a charge of burglary. Recorder Charles Fox, said: “He was bang to rights because he left his fingerprints behind.”

Prosecutor Tony Trigg told how Waith stuffed the stolen property into a holdall and a few bin liners before making his getaway in a cab on Wednesday, October 31.

Within hours the police found the loot at an address in Corporation Road and when Waith was arrested he told detectives he committed the crime to buy drugs.

Peter Harding Roberts, defending, said: “He’s angry with himself for what he did.”

The Recorder told Waith that if he continued committing burglaries he could “expect to be locked up for longer and longer”.

Ms Battiscombe said her two children, Corey and Gabriel, have been left traumatised by the burglary.

She said: “Corey still goes on about it all the time.

“He won’t go upstairs without the light on any more and he never used to be like that.

“To be honest, I didn’t want to come back into the house after all my stuff had been rummaged through.”

Waith’s three-year sentence will be reduced by six days due to the time he spent in custody.

Mohammed Javaid, of the Hackney Taxi Society, said: “This seems most bizarre and it’s the first time I have ever heard of a thief getting away in a taxi.

“But taxi drivers don’t ask people whether they are a thief or not when they get in the car and it’s quite usual for people to carry bags full of stuff.

“I have seen this sort of thing in the movies but I can’t believe someone had the gall to do it in real life.”

echo.newsdesk@mediawales.co.uk