A prolific shoplifter who took part in a house burglary got more than he bargained for when he was chased and hit with a shovel.

Addict Jules Coldwell, 40, had been out of trouble for five years, but he started using street drugs again after being laid off from his work and in August last year he was involved in a day-time burglary at a house in Rastrick.

Coldwell and an accomplice got into the house on Fletcher Crescent during the early afternoon, but a neighbour spotted what was happening and rang the householder and the police.

Prosecutor John Bull told Bradford Crown Court how the householder, who worked nearby, arrived back at his home with two colleagues and the two intruders fled when they realised there were people outside the property.

One burglar got away, but Mr Bull said Coldwell was hit with a shovel in an attempt to stop him escaping through nearby gardens.

Coldwell, of Rosemary Close, Rastrick, eventually ran off through nearby fields, but during the burglary he left behind a bottle of methadone with his name and details on it as well as a rucksack containing some of the property stolen from the house.

Mr Bull said police later found Coldwell’s DNA on the rucksack.

The court heard that Coldwell had 23 convictions on his record for more than 50 offences, but Recorder Paul Greaney QC was told that the majority were shoplifting offences and he had no convictions for house burglary.

Bradford Crown Court

A few weeks after the burglary offence Coldwell was given a community order for theft offences and six-month drug rehabilitation order.

Coldwell pleaded guilty to the burglary offence when he appeared before the crown court.

Recorder Greaney was given an update on Coldwell’s progress on the community order and was told the defendant was close to obtaining a place on a detoxification residential course in the Midlands.

The judge said it was clear that drugs had blighted Coldwell’s life and the burglary offence was marked by “amateurism rather than sophistication.”

Recorder Greaney said he was able to suspend Coldwell’s six-month jail term for two years, but he should regard it as “a near miss.”

Coldwell will now be subject to a nine-month drug rehabilitation requirement with monthly reviews at the crown court and he must also do 120 hours unpaid work for the community.