A SERIAL conman who stole expensive silverware from a manor house before targeting pubs and hotels has been jailed for two years and four months.

Police found £20,000 of silver and gold items at Adrian Inman’s mother’s premises after they arrested him in August, Teesside Crown Court heard.

A crest on the items identified them as belonging to Lord Masham. Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, said Inman gained entry to the house in Masham, North Yorkshire, through a rear door.

While Inman, who has previously been jailed for a number of charges including possessing and cultivating cannabis, was on bail he committed six further offences including stealing laptops from a pub, possessing cannabis and a knife. The 50-year-old, of no fixed abode, also stole two towels and made off from Aysgarth Falls Hotels in Aysgarth and the White Rose Hotel, in Askrigg without paying.

In a police interview he said he had hoarded the items from Masham for a number of years, but had dug them up as he was short of money.

The three ounces of cannabis, he said, had been “sent from Morocco unbeknown to him”.

Inman added that he neglected to pay the £99.85 bill at Aysgarth because he was unimpressed with the staff’s service after he was locked out from the drying room. The £71.65 bill from the White Rose Hotel went unpaid because he saw some men who he believed would harm him and left the premises at 5am.

Uzma Khan, mitigating, said Inman had taken a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and Valium before he committed many of the offences. “It was an isolated period in his life and he is incredibly remorseful,” she added.

“He was walking round like a zombie. The offences were very much opportunistic and He is appalled by his own behaviour.

“He accepts that it was his drug problems that may have exacerbated the situation. He was perhaps overwhelmed with caring for his 80-year-old mother.”

Recorder Angus Withington said: “It was a sustained period of offending causing financial loss and considerable emotional effect to all those involved.

“This is very much an escalation of previous offences.”

Inman, who has no fixed abode, was jailed for 28 months, including 18 months for the theft from Lord Masham.