Dover Burglar Caught Red-Handed After Tool Theft
A thief who made off with thousands of pounds’ worth of power tools from a Dover building site has been locked up. The raid was uncovered on 14 October 2019 at a renovation project on Flying Horse Lane.
Bloodstained Sack Leads Police to Burglar
Builders had locked up the site three days earlier. When they returned, a stash of electric hand tools had vanished from a secured storage room. Oddly, unused rubble sacks were stuffed with boxes of screws — one bag even had a bloodstain. kent-police/" title="Kent Police" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">Kent Police traced the blood to 46-year-old Adam Walford from Rokesley Road, Dover.
Walford’s Dodgy Defence Fails
Walford was arrested on 4 November and charged with burglary. At Canterbury Crown Court, he admitted breaking in but only confessed to nicking two reciprocating saws — photos of which were found on his phone.
He claimed he hadn’t intended to steal. Instead, Walford said he was visiting a mate when he spotted the site, decided to sleep there, and nodded off. The judge wasn’t buying it.
Jail Time for Tool Thief
Walford was sentenced on 23 January 2020 to 29 months behind bars. Investigating officer PC Mike Kingwell slammed Walford’s “unusual claims” and praised the court for seeing through the lies.
“Theft like this can leave a business out of pocket and struggling without the tools they need,” said PC Kingwell. “We’re glad the judge handed down a proper sentence.”
