POLICE investigating raids on vehicles in a Blackburn car park near Waves set a trap to snare the thieves.

And when Robert Ginley took the bait he was caught on film breaking into the car and fleeing with a mobile phone and handbag left on a dashboard.

Ginley, 36, of Fishmoor Drive, Blackburn, pleaded guilty before town magistrates to theft of the items belonging to Lancashire Constabulary. He was arrested on January 8 made subject to a nine-month community rehabilitation order.

Lisa Worsley, prosecuting, said the police "sting" followed a spate of car crimes in the area. An unmarked car fitted with a secret camera was left on the car park and at 3.45pm it was broken into.

She said the passenger side door was punctured with a sharp implement, the same method used to break into two other cars on the car park that day.

Video footage showed Ginley entering then removing the property. But despite being shown the evidence, he initially denied the offence.

Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said the defendant had succumbed to the temptation at a time when he was extremely vulnerable.

He said that due to benefit problems Ginley had no money, which had meant Christmas Day disappointment for his three children, especially an 11-year-old girl who had asked for a mobile phone.

"You can imagine the disappointment of the young girl when she got not a mobile phone but, in my client's words, not a lot of anything," said Mr Church-Taylor.

"Her sadness lasted for more than a day and was still in his Ginley's mind when he was walking through town on Saturday and saw the telephone on the dashboard."