A BUNGLING burglar's raid of a Carlisle supermarket within an hour of it closing ended disastrously as police spotted him and his trolley load of stolen goods tipped over.

Michael Parker, 36, who has a history of committing failed burglaries, tried to flee but the police officers caught him a short distance away, Carlisle Crown Court heard. The defendant, of Stonegarth, Morton, admitted burglary.

Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson described what happened.

He said that the manager of the Charlotte Street branch of Lidl had closed the shop and left it locked and secure at 10.15pm on Saturday, July 10, last year.

But half an hour later,  the alarm had sounded, indicating that somebody was inside the store. The alarm also automatically triggered all of the interior lights to switch on, so that everything that happened next was caught clearly on CCTV.

Those images showed how Parker had smashed his way into the store through the glass front doors and then visited various aisles, filling the baskets he had picked up with meat and booze.

“He then took his basket to the front of the store and climbed out through the broken front door,” said Mr Rogerson.

Parker then transferred the stolen goods - worth just under £390 – to a trolley and began to walk away with it.

As the police arrived, he lost control of the trolley, and it spilled over. Parker ran off but he was caught nearby. Goods worth £94 were damaged when the trolley toppled.

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Mr Rogerson explained that it cost £2,000 to repair the damaged door, while Lidl also had to hire a security guard to stand at the front of the store overnight until repair work on the damaged door could be started.

The court heard that Parker’s criminal record includes previous burglaries. In October last year, he was given 27 months' jail for a dwelling house burglary.

Andrew Gurney, defending, said Parker’s life had been blighted by substance misuse and alcohol dependency. He had funded that lifestyle by committing offences. “Having today seen him for the first time since October, I have seen the benefit he has received since being in custody,” said the lawyer.

“He is sober and appears to be in a much better place mentally and he’s looking forward to the future.” Mr Gurney added that Parker apologised for the offence.

Recorder Julian Shaw noted the defendant’s previous record, which includes non-dwelling and dwelling house burglaries. He imposed four months custody, though current rules mean that this term will be served alongside the sentence Parker is currently serving.

He is due for release in September of this year.