A BIKE thief who lost hundreds of pounds betting on the Grand National stole two cycles to make his money back, a court has heard.
Shane Bradley, of Grafton Crescent, Bromsgrove, committed the offences on April 7 and 8 at Worcester College of Technology when he took a custom built mountain bike worth £1,000 and a BMX valued at £140.
The 21-year-old was given an 18-month suspended sentence of 12-weeks imprisonment for each offence, to run concurrently. A ten-week curfew starting from last Friday (May 2) between 8pm and 7am was also imposed.
Both bikes were secured to racks outside the college before they were taken and when security checked the CCTV they found a car arriving at the site both days, which the defendant made off in, Worcester Magistrates Court heard on Friday.
The court also heard how Bradley, who had served two prison sentences last year, said he received £50 for the first bike and was waiting payment on the second bike. He insisted to police he was acting alone.
District Judge Nigel Cadbury said: “You have got a bad record, it’s a long record and you’ve only recently gone to prison for other offences.
“When you look at this I think some planning was clearly involved as you used a car to get to the location and went back the following day.”
Bradley was also ordered to pay compensation of £1,000 and £140 and a victim surcharge of £80.
