A THIEF who took a break from stealing £13,000 of equipment from a Burnley tattooists to drink a bottle of milk has been jailed for 18 months.

Months before carrying out that burglary Ryan Ashe, 22, robbed a man as he withdrew money from a cashpoint, Burnley Crown Court heard.

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Ashe, of Albert Street in Burnley, carried out his crimes to fund his drug habit, which was exacerbated when his mother died earlier this year, prosecutor Stephen Park said.

The court was shown CCTV footage of Ashe robbing victim Usman Anwar outside the Post Office in Todmorden Road, Burnley, on August 8.

Mr Parker said: “The defendant approached the victim from behind as he was in the process of withdrawing money from the cash machine and said something to the effect of ‘you owe me money’ and pushed Mr Anwar out of the way, taking the £130 which was being dispensed from the machine.”

Mr Parker said Ashe was seen by an officer who recognised him from the CCTV footage and subsequently arrested him.

The court heard how Ashe carried out the burglary at the Skin Factory overnight on October 7 by scaling a barbed wire fence and breaking in through a first floor window.

Mr Parker said Ashe then made an “untidy search” of all the treatment rooms and stole various equipment and a digital camera.

Ashe carried the equipment out in pillow cases, making several trips, and dumped them in a neighbour’s back yard.

Mr Parker said he attempted to sell the tattooing equipment at a rival store and the digital camera at Cash Converters in Burnley.

Police found Ashe’s DNA on a milk bottle found at the scene, which they used to link him to the burglary.

Defending, Mark Stuart said his client regretted his actions and all the items had since been returned to Skin Factory.

Mr Stuart said: “The defendant had been trying very hard in the early part of the year not to take drugs.

“But following a tragic incident which he refers to in his letter to the court he’s gone back to using cocaine.”

Ashe, who has 38 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to robbery and theft.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Ashe to 18 months imprisonment Judge Jonathan Gibson said: “This case perhaps demonstrates the scourge of drugs in our society. It seems your need for money to buy drugs drove you to crime.”