Burglar jailed for bank card theft and fraud

A thief has been jailed for more than two years after stealing three bank cards during a burglary and using them to pay for items at a fast food restaurant, pub and a supermarket.

Anthony Baugh was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court on Wednesday 25 May after pleading guilty to one residential burglary and 11 counts of fraud by false representation.

The burglary happened at about 10.15pm on Saturday 14 January at a home in Mount Street, Taunton. Baugh made his way into the address through an unlocked door while the occupants were upstairs.

The 36-year-old took bank cards belonging to the pair and used them at a number of businesses before the theft was spotted by the victims the following morning.

Baugh, of Barton Village Road in Oxford, received a prison sentence of 876 days – just under two-and-a-half years – and must pay a £228 victim surcharge.

PC Brennan Brown, officer in the case, said: “The victims did the right thing in cancelling their bank cards and reporting the matter to the police as soon as they realised what had happened.

“Officers, including those within our dedicated burglary team, worked together in order to achieve this conviction, with the offender identified following a trawl of CCTV footage.

“We hope convictions such as this act as a deterrent to criminals and continue to give the public confidence to report incidents to us to investigate.”