A serial burglar who stole more than £4,000 of power tools from a property under renovation has been spared jail.

Wayne Goldup, 38, broke into the victim’s garage in York by smashing a window and helped himself to £4,650 of mainly Nikita tools which have never been recovered, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Kelly Clarke said that a trail of blood from the garage in Burton Stone Lane enabled police to identify Goldup from his DNA and he was arrested.

Goldup, of Westfield Road, York, was charged with burglary and theft and admitted the offences. He appeared for sentence today (Friday, August 30).

Ms Clarke said the victim was renovating his end-of-terrace home and had left “numerous” high-value tools inside his garage overnight.

The following morning, June 25, he noticed a partial footprint on newly laid concrete at the front of his property and a trail of blood outside his porch. He then discovered the smashed window in his garage where Goldup had broken in.

Inside, Goldup had virtually emptied the garage of every valuable item, including drills, a circular saw, a radio and a gas box.

Ms Kelly said that Goldup’s criminal record, which comprised 41 previous offences, included four previous burglaries, handling stolen goods and 14 “theft and kindred” offences since 2017. His last prison sentence, imposed in December last year, was a 26-week jail term for burglary.

Defence barrister Jordan Millican said Goldup was homeless at the time of the power-tools burglary and, in common with his past offending, he had stolen the items to feed a drug habit.

Goldup had been abusing crack cocaine and amphetamine, but Mr Millican said he had been clean of the drugs for the past few months.

He said that following his arrest, Goldup’s sister had taken him into her home and given him some stability.

Judge Edward Legard said that Goldup had “deliberately targeted” the victim’s home and the offence was aggravated by his “poor” criminal record.

However, he said he was prepared to “take a gamble” on the criminal and spare him jail.

Mr Legard said he had taken account of Goldup’s mental-health issues, his recent abstinence from drugs and the “degree of security” he now had after moving in with his sister.

He said although the victim and other “ordinary members of the public” would “justifiably” expect to see Goldup jailed as a “deterrent” sentence, he had decided “with considerable caution” to go along with the recommendations of the Probation Service and err on the side of a community disposal.

Goldup received a 16-month suspended prison sentence with a 20-day rehabilitation programme. There was no order for compensation.