A man has been jailed for harbouring nearly £2,000 worth of tools stolen from a neighbour’s house.
David Unsworth, 42, of Tring Road, Wendover, was sentenced at Aylesbury Magistrates’s Court after being found guilty of handling stolen goods.
One of the victims of the theft, Jane Taylor, described Unsworth as a ‘scumbag’ and said she was happy he was given a prison sentence.
Tools worth £1,750 including a chainsaw and a hedge cutter belonging to Miss Taylor’s partner, Roy Seabrook, who runs a gardening business, were taken in the early hours of January 23.
Unsworth was spotted outside the property where the tools were stolen, which is seven doors from his own home, on the night of the theft.
Miss Taylor, who thinks Unsworth had accomplices, said: “We saw someone had opened the back of my partner’s van, so we shouted out of the window and that scared them off, but they had already taken a lot of equipment.
“They could have cleaned up out if our dog’s barking hadn’t woken us up.
“He’s done it to me and he’s meant to be my neighbour.
“Nowadays we live in a very sad world and you can’t trust anybody.”
Police visited Unsworth’s house shortly after the incident and found the stolen goods.
Miss Taylor, who lives with her partner and 17-year-old daughter, Kayleigh, said they had all had a few sleepless nights since the theft and had doubled security at their home.
She said: “You just don’t know if they’re going to do it again.
“I’m just very wary of any noise and we’re constantly looking out of the window.
“You think when you live in a village that you’re pretty safe.
“It’s a lovely village, with lovely people, and then you get a scumbag like that.”
Unsworh was jailed for 10 weeks – eight weeks for handling stolen goods and a further two for failing to answer bail.