Prolific burglar jailed for 6 years over string of Canterbury shop break-ins

A prolific burglar who broke into and stole from shops in Canterbury has been jailed for six and a half years.

Stephen Field carried out offences in the city between January and May 2022 before being arrested and charged with handling stolen goods and seven counts of burglary.

The 32-year-old, of no fixed address, admitted all of the offences and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday 13 October.

An investigation by Canterbury’s Victim Based Crime Team showed Field was behind a series of burglaries, which typically took place in the early hours of the morning.

Offences

• On January 5, he used an angle grinder to enter a store in The Parade, causing £15,000 worth of damage to a window, before stealing a mobile phone from inside.
• On 17 March, an electric bike was stolen from the campus of the University of Kent. The victim later saw Field on the bike and managed to get it back, while Field fled.
• In April, he carried out three further overnight break-ins, at a shop in The Parade, a coffee shop in the High Street and a supermarket in Sturry Road.
• He then broke into a shop in St George’s Lane and stole a bike on the morning of Friday 6 May and mobile phone shops in The Parade and the High Street on Monday 16 and Wednesday 18 May, stealing phones and vaping equipment.

Charges

Field was arrested later the same month and some of the stolen goods were found in his possession. CCTV analysis and other investigative work led to him being charged.

His sentence also included a term for an aggravated burglary on February 6, when metal piping was stolen from a building in Harbledown. Field admitted he was in possession of a knife at the time.

Investigating officer PC Amy Waddington, of Kent Police’s Victim Based Crime Team, said: ‘Kent Police is determined to protect businesses from the attention of repeat offenders like Field.

‘I am pleased the thorough and painstaking investigation by all of the team I work with left Field no choice but to plead guilty to these charges, leading to the lengthy sentence which will prevent further offences for a significant period of time.’