A hapless thief who severely damaged his back while escaping from the top-floor flat he broke into will be spending the next few months recuperating in prison.
John Townsley failed to garner any sympathy from Sheriff Derek Livingston when he appeared at Perth Sheriff Court on Monday wearing a spinal jacket.
Due to the severity of his injury, it was the 38-year-old’s first appearance since he was charged with breaking into the Nimmo Avenue property on March 12.
The court heard the woman occupying the flat had left just after 9am to take her son to nursery, after checking the doors were secure.
However, around an hour later a neighbour heard someone kicking at the door and called the police.
Officers found a pane on the door had been broken using a gardening tool, which had been left outside the flat.
When they looked through the hole, they saw Townsley inside.
He claimed the property belonged to his girlfriend and he left the room on the pretence of phoning her.
When he failed to reappear, the officers searched for Townsley, eventually finding him lying on the ground below the bedroom window, unable to move and with a number of stolen items, including jewellery and a games console, strewn around him.TreatmentHe was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for treatment and, after discussions with the flat’s occupier, it was confirmed she did not know him.
Defence agent John McLaughlin said his client had come “very close” to killing himself in the incident and that his back was effectively being held together with a metal rod.
“He is wearing what is called a spinal jacket,” he said. “At home, he is not able to lie down and has to effectively sleep in a sitting position.
“He tells me that, on that day, in a real sense his life flashed before his eyes.
“He got into a situation where he realised that he spent most of his life in custody rather than outside of prison.”
Mr McLaughlin added that Townsley decided to break into the flat in a bid to pay off a drug debt, as he felt this was the “only thing” to do.
Townsley, of McDonald Court, admitted that on March 12 he broke into a flat occupied by the woman at Nimmo Avenue and stole a jewellery box, six rings, two pendants, a coin necklace, a baby’s identity bracelet and a Nintendo DSi games console.
Sheriff Livingston refused to consider deferring sentence to obtain reports, saying it would “put off the inevitable.”
He jailed Townsley for six months, which prompted a foul-mouthed outburst from the accused as he was led from the court.