Worksop: Thief suffered broken ribs after raid on van

Carl Tony Martin Webb was caught red handed inside a Vectra van which had already been broken into on 30th April.

Webb, of Edinburgh Road, appeared at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to attempted theft from the vehicle. The court heard the owner of the van had been hunting the people responsible for stealing his tools from the van when it was originally broken into, when he discovered Webb, 36, in the boot cabin.

Webb was detained until police arrived and arrested him. He said he had been told there were tools in the van and had decided to steal them to sell on.

He said he needed money to buy a second hand mobile phone he had promised his daughter. Webb said his washing machine had packed in and all his savings had to go on buying another.

His solicitor said Webb had suffered three broken ribs after he was detained in a robust manner and subjected to summary justice.

When police arrived they had found a group of people holding a man to the floor. He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay a charge of £180.