Dad says 'it's bull****' after 'cannabis smell' led him to destroy couple's roof

A burglar who broke into a flat by fashioning a huge hole in the roof said he believed the property was a cannabis farm. Aaron Robertson left the occupants of the apartment homeless after destroying a large portion of the ceiling in order to gain entry, with one man even being forced to sleep in his car as a result.

The intruder maintains that he thought that the premises had been converted into a drugs factory and claims that he intended to steal and sell the illicit substances he anticipated he would find inside. But the dad instead took thousands of pounds of his victims' belongings, including a diamond engagement ring.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, that Matthew Bowen left his home on Bolton Road in Ashton-in-Makerfield, a flat above a barber shop, on August 2 this year and spent the following two days working away in Somerset, with his partner having also stayed with her family over the weekend in question.

When he returned at around 6pm on Sunday, August 4, he discovered a pane of glass from a rear window had been dislodged and found a "large amount of dust and rubble" on the living room floor.

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Steven Ball, prosecuting, described how the complainant then noticed a "large hole in the ceiling" above, with wooden slats and plaster left hanging down from above. Mr Bowen subsequently discovered that an Xbox plus two controllers and 35 games, a diamond ring with a gold band, a silver necklace, costume jewellery, an Asus laptop, a 32-inch Samsung PC monitor, a car key, a house key, an iPod Touch, a walkie talkie and six Marvel character figurines had been pilfered during the burglary.

These goods were valued at a total of £2,434, with none of the items having since been recovered. Mr Ball told the court the offender had "cut a hole in the roof and ceiling" using a knife with a seven-inch blade which was recovered from the scene and did not belong to the victims, at which stage Robertson remarked from the dock: "Bulls***. It was my hands. I stamped on it with my foot."

The 33-year-old, of Cambridge Road in St Helens, was linked to the break-in after one of his fingerprints was discovered on a windowsill. He has two previous convictions for burglary from 2017 and 2018.

In a statement which was read out to the court on his behalf, Mr Bowen said: "Since the burglary, myself and my partner do not feel safe. I had nowhere to go. Not only were our hard earned things taken from us, we have been made homeless.

"There was significant damage to the roof and our landlord didn't have insurance. We went to sofa surfing and staying in hotels until I finally found somewhere to live.

"We are trying to replace the items, and this has taken a long time to save up for. We have had to start all over again. One night, I even went without food and drink and slept in my car. The last seven weeks have been a nightmare which we have not been able to wake up from.

"Things have been damaged that cannot be replaced. I saved for a very long time to buy an engagement ring for my partner and propose, which has been taken.

"It has made me feel empty. It is hard to put into words how this has affected us mentally. There are no words to describe it. It has shattered my life into pieces. We have a very, very hard road to try to get back to our life."

Oliver Saddington, defending, said on Robertson's behalf: "He, front and centre, now has a son. He wants to provide for his family as best as he can.

"He was travelling past the property when he smelled cannabis. He tells me, believing that there might be a grow in the property, he decided, in essence, to go in and steal the drugs to sell.

"He is adamant that the knife in question was already in the property. It may be that the court will have heard from the dock the way in which he caused the damage, by booting it with his foot. It would be something of a remarkable feat to use a knife to cause that level of damage.

"He wants to work on addressing his mental health. This is a defendant who, with the right support, can properly nip his offending in the bud. He is still young and he has a family he wants to support.

"He wants to put front and centre his apology and his remorse. He regrets going up onto the roof that night and doing what he did."

Robertson admitted burglary and was jailed for 18 months. Sentencing, Recorder Michael Blakey said: "This is not the first time you have been into people's property without consent and stolen their personal items.

"You caused significant and substantial damage in gaining entry to that property by creating a hole in the roofing by kicking through whatever was there. Once inside, you took their personal items - including a diamond ring and electronic equipment.

"That has had a significant impact on the victims in this case. They felt unsafe in their own property. You left them, at one stage, homeless because they could not reside in the property.

"Invasion into other people's private property causes extreme anxiety. You should feel safe in your own property, free from anybody else entering and stealing your items.

"You are still young, although you have a record of dishonesty. You have a young son and you instruct that you are turning a corner. It is difficult to understand that you are turning the corner when you committed this offence in August this year.

"No doubt any custodial sentence would have an impact on your family situation. I accept that, but the damage you have done to these individuals means that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody in my judgement."