A GOLF ball gatherer - who earns a living trawling mis-hits from lakes, rivers and ponds at courses around Britain - was jailed for 18 months for cheating.
Instead of putting on his diving gear and going underwater to collect upwards of 600 abandoned balls a day, York Crown Court heard that Stephen Thewlis, 24, took the easy way out and broke into a club house and stole 4,000 of them.
He later dishonestly received a further 10,000 golf balls stolen from the same clubhouse at Ripon Golf Range and sold them on for 10p apiece.
Thewlis, of Langley Close, Bramley, Leeds, admitted burglary and handling stolen property.
Prosecutor Diane Campbell said Thewlis was caught after leaving a training shoe print outside the Ripon clubhouse.
Tim Capstick, for the accused, said he had earned his living legitimately for retrieving lost golf balls.
He denied he received 10,000 golf balls from the burglary and said it was more like 1,000.
Thewlis told police he wore a diving suit when gathering golf balls, which at that stage belonged to no-one, and usually collected about 600 a day. He sold them back to clubs after cleaning them up. His job comfortably supported his pregnant wife and child.
Updated: 10:08 Saturday, June 16, 2001
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