Lancaster cafe burglar is jailed after court told he was already subject to suspended jail term for theft

Ian Burns, of Fleming House, Mainway, Lancaster, entered the Cafe Dolce premises in Lancaster on January 23, Preston Magistrates’ Court was told.

Prosecutors said he entered the staff room and stole cash and electrical items, including an i-Phone and airpods worth £1,100.

At the time he was subject to a 16 week suspended jail term imposed in August 2018 for stealing vodka and meat from a shop, and a community order.

A suspended term means if the offender commits another crime in the period of the suspension, they may have to serve all or part of that term alongside a punishment for the new offence.

Burns originally pleaded not guilty to burglary but changed his plea.

The magistrates’ bench sent him to prison for 18 weeks, but also activated eight weeks of his suspended jail term, meaning his total sentence was 26 weeks.

The court remarked the matter was serious because he had a “very bad record”, alongside a drugs and drink problem, and a “chaotic lifestyle”.

He was ordered to pay £100 compensation to the cafe, based in Market St in the St Nicholas Arcades.