Burglar who stole £5k from Skegness hotel is jailed

David Sollly, 39, also took sentimental photographs after sneaking into an office at Seacroft Mobility in the resort and burgled the home of a 77-year-old Hogsthorpe woman during the crime spree in July 2018.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Solly is currently serving a sentence of 50 months imprisonment for other offences committed in the Maidstone area.

Phil Howes, prosecuting, said the first burglary occurred during the afternoon of 7 July last year when Solly sneaked into the home of a 77-year-old Hogsthorpe woman while she was talking to a friend.

The court was told Solly took the woman's debit and credit cards which were then used on eleven occasions at six different shops within a couple of hours of the burglary.

Mr Howes said: "The contactless limit of £30 was used on each occasion making a total loss of £296-84."

The woman did not realise her cards had been stolen until she was contacted by her bank, the court heard.

Solly carried out a second burglary five days later when he sneaked into the back office of Seacroft Mobility during the afternoon of 12 July.

Mr Howes said Solly stole a purse from a female member of staff who was distracted by serving customers.

"The purse contained £160 in cash and more importantly sentimental photographs," Mr Howes added.

CCTV showed Solly entering the back office.

During the same month Solly was also linked by CCTV to the theft of £5,000 from a safe at the Quorn Hotel in North Parade, Skegness.

Mr Howes told the court Solly had visited the hotel a couple of days before the burglary to ask about a room.

Solly, of no fixed address, admitted one charge of dwelling burglary, two commercial burglaries and seven offences of fraud during July 2018.

Neil Sands, mitigating, told the court Solly's earliest release date from prison for his Maidstone offences was June 2021 and argued the Skegness matters should not add to his sentence.

But passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst told Solly he could not escape a consecutive sentence for the Skegness offences.

Judge Hirst told Solly his offending was aggravated by his "woeful list of previous convictions" and the fact he took sentimental photographs of a deceased relative during the Seacroft Mobility burglary.

"That lady will never have them back," Judge Hirst added. "It is a serious aggravating feature from your greed."