Reading Crown Court: Newbury burglar targets vulnerable Hungerford woman’s home

A BURGLAR targeted a vulnerable woman, stealing a safe from her home after smashing his way inside.

In the safe were priceless items of great personal value, such as a silver pocket watch belonging to her great great grandfather, which was never recovered.

Police found blood on the smashed glass at the home in Wessex Close, Hungerford.

And this week Ryan Solly was beginning a two-year jail term after forensic scientists matched his DNA to that at the scene.

The 43-year-old, of the Two Saints Hostel in Newtown Road, Newbury, admitted entering a home in Wessex Close, Hungerford, on Friday, May 12, and stealing hundreds of pounds worth of goods.

Charles Ward-Jackson, prosecuting at Reading Crown Court on Monday, August 21, said the young victim suffered from autism and was trying to build an independent life for herself in the ground floor studio flat.

He added: “She left for work at 7.30am, leaving the flat secure.

“Later that day she received a call from a neighbour to say her home had been broken in to.

“The patio door had been smashed using a rock from the garden.

“It was so comprehensively smashed that the intruder was able to walk in through the space created.”

A small safe, which was bolted to the floor inside a cupboard, was ripped out and taken away, along with its contents, the court heard.

Mr Ward-Jackson said these included items of great personal value including a £700 Gucci bag, a Louis Vuitton wallet and a wrist watch gifted to her by her parents.

Most of the items, including the great great grandfather’s pocket watch, were never recovered, the court heard.

The victim is now afraid in her own home and is unable to sleep or to trust people, the court heard.

Mr Ward-Jackson said: “Her statement makes particularly sad reading; she suffers from autism and recently moved from her parents’ home to set up this new home.”

The court heard Solly, who has previously lived in Speen and in Thatcham, has so many previous convictions that they cover 60 pages.

The offending includes motoring offences, non-dwelling burglaries, shoplifting, criminal damage, theft, drug possession and breaking court orders.

Solly, chronically addicted to alcohol, crack cocaine and heroin, had breached a conditional discharge and current community order with his latest burglary.

George Joseph, defending, said his client wanted to retain his liberty in order to be able to parent his several children.

Mr Joseph said an accomplice had actually suggested the burglary and Solly had simply gone along with it.

But only Solly’s DNA was found at the scene and he had refused to identify the alleged mystery accomplice, the court heard.

Nevertheless Mr Joseph implored the court to suspend any custodial sentence that might be imposed.

He added: “It would, of course, be a leap of faith from Your Honour, but it may be the best way for a future for him.

“There is, in my submission, a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”

But District Judge Peter Greenfield told Solly he had routinely flouted court orders in the past and was “a danger to the public”.

He sentenced him to two years imprisonment, half of which will be served behind bars and the remainder on licence in the community.