A BURGLAR snatched thousands of pounds worth of antique jewellery from a shop only hours after posing as a customer during a recce.‬

‪Desperate to pay off a large drug debt, 40-year-old Matthew James Gray visited Cathedral Antiques in Carlisle on the morning of July 23 last year.

During a nine-minute stay, Gray was seen wearing a distinctive crucifix, white trainers and with a large rucksack.

“Apparently browsing as a customer,” prosecutor Tim Evans told the city’s crown court, “but conducting a recce, plainly, looking particularly at displays of antique jewellery which would later be targeted.”‬

‪After staff arrived for work the next morning, they discovered a break-in and checked CCTV.

This showed a man making an initial attempt to force the door at 2am on July 24 before finally gaining entry just before 4am.‬

‪“Once inside, the male - this defendant - could be seen going from display case to case, forcing entry with a knife and then stealing antique jewellery, including rings, brooches and pendants,” said Mr Evans.

Gray was wearing the same white footwear.‬

‪Staff alerted other jewellers to the incident and haul.

And when Gray went into a Whitehaven store 33 hours after the raid, his bid to offload the loot was thwarted.

“He claimed he wanted to pawn items he had inherited from his recently deceased mother,” said the prosecutor.‬

‪Police were called, and Gray was detained in possession of some stolen items after a short foot chase.‬

‪The total loss and cost of damage at Cathedral Antiques ran into thousands of pounds, with more than £5,000 worth of jewellery unrecovered and a further £1,100 worth found but damaged.‬

‪Gray, previously of Windebrowe Avenue, Keswick, and now of Elder Drive, Stainburn, Workington, admitted burglary.‬

‪Jeff Smith, defending, said Gray had not offended since 2007.

But he turned to significant cocaine use after family bereavements, accruing a debt approaching £10,000 which he was pressured to repay by committing the burglary.‬

‪After considering mitigation and hearing that Gray was due to start work from the end of this months Judge Nicholas Barker suspended a six-month jail term for 18 months.

Gray must complete 180 hours unpaid work and pay the victim £2,400 compensation.‬