'Career' criminal says his life was 'motivated by revenge’

By Thom Kennedy

Last updated 11:45, Saturday, 11 October 2008

A pensioner who has lived a life of crime has told a national newspaper that his criminal career was motivated by revenge.

Richard Blaylock

Richard Blaylock, from Carlisle, was convicted in 1952 of stealing a pair of gloves, but says he bought them in a pub.

And he has now told The Daily Telegraph that everything he has done since then has been motivated by a desire for revenge after that incident, and he has spent a total of more than four decades in jail.

But the 76-year-old said that he now intends to give up his criminal life, as it has become too hard.

He said: “It’s getting harder and harder for criminals, with all the CCTV cameras and DNA evidence.

“It’s a mug’s game. I’ll never get into trouble again.

“In 1952 I was caught by the police with a pair of gloves that had been stolen.

“But I never stole them. I bought them in a pub.

“Ever since then, I have been driven by revenge for being put away for something I didn’t do.”

In the article, he added: “I escaped from borstal and went on the run.

“I had to carry out burglaries. I had to live and eat. It was the natural thing to do.

“I’m not trying to get out of what I’ve done but I always feel the system has made me like this.”

Mr Blaylock, who grew up on the Raffles Estate, was first jailed in 1950.

He was recently released from prison after being jailed in August for going equipped to commit burglary.

At the time, District Judge Gerald Chalk described him in Carlisle Magistrates’ Court as a “historic, professional burglar”.

Before that, he received his 68th conviction from Carlisle magistrates in December 2003 after burgling £2,000-worth of jewels and ornaments from a house in Richardson Street.

But he has now vowed to go straight, saying he intends to spend more time with his family.

In 2000, the pensioner was jailed for a year for dangerous driving and burglary of a house in Silloth.

During the case, Carlisle Crown Court heard he had been sentenced to 42.5 years in custody during his criminal career.