Bentham man, 22, ran off with TV in ‘drunken escapade’ (From Craven Herald)

Bentham man, 22, ran off with TV in ‘drunken escapade’

2:14pm Thursday 20th September 2012 in News

A Bentham man got into trouble when a drunken prank went badly wrong, Skipton magistrates were told.

Christopher Taylor, 22, thought it would be a good idea to pretend he was a police officer, the court was told on Friday.

He banged on the door of a house in Main Street, Bentham, next to where he had been attending a barbecue, and demanded to be let in.

Having got in, and while the occupiers were still upstairs, he ran off with their £299 television, the court heard.

But his plan to leave it perched on a wall next to the Horse and Farrier pub was foiled when the father of the tenant turned up and chased him down a ginnel next to the pub.

Taylor, a farm labourer, was pinned down by Bryan Armstrong, but not before he threatened him with a large stone, threw a punch and also caused Mr Armstrong to graze his knees.

The court heard that two people inside the house, in the late evening of August 26, heard shouts of “police, let us in” followed by “there’s no-one here”.

The two, including a 14-year-old, heard the house being entered, followed by banging and people leaving. They then discovered the television had been stolen.

Mr Armstrong, who happened to be nearby, turned up after being telephoned for help and saw three men standing nearby who he suspected were responsible.

He chased Taylor along a ginnel in his car, got out and was punched by Taylor, who also picked up a top stone off a wall and threatened the other man with it.

Taylor was arrested after being restrained by Mr Armstrong who, together with his stepson, sat on him.

Taylor, who admitted burglary and assault by beating, had been very drunk after being at the barbecue, the court was told.

In mitigation, Glen Maude said it had been a drunken prank that had gone very wrong.

“He vaguely knew the people who lived in the house and for some reason he thought it would be a good prank to say he was police and wanted to enter the premises,” said Ms Maude.

She said he entered through an insecure front door, but there was no confrontation with the tenants, who remained upstairs, and the television was later recovered.

Ms Maude said Taylor panicked when he saw Mr Armstrong, tried to run off, picked up and dropped the top stone, which was much too heavy for him, and ended up being put in an arm lock and sat on.

“He accepts responsibility for this drunken escapade that went horribly wrong,” she said.

Magistrates told Taylor, of Low Bentham Road, that their sentencing powers were not great enough and committed him to Bradford Crown Court for sentencing.

l A second man denied burglary at Main Street, Bentham, on the same date.

The case against Mark Robert Hall, of Barghs Meadow, Bentham, was adjourned until November 9 for committal proceedings to crown court.