A 24-year-old man who stole thousands of pounds from a Shropshire post office has been jailed for three years.
William Davidson admitted carrying out the burglary on January 16 in Waters Upton, near Telford, at an earlier hearing.
Mr Daniel White, prosecuting at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday, said the post office and shop, which were mostly used by locals, were joined together.
He said Davidson could be seen on CCTV looking through a store window before entering and stealing £29,000 from a safe.
Mr White said that a shop worker, startled by someone lying on the floor, had run after the thief and had pinned him against a wall.
“The worker pulled off the intruder’s jacket and coat and chased him down the road but he got into a nearby car,” added Mr White.
Postmaster Stephen Bentley suffered minor injuries after he was knocked to the ground by the car as he tried to stop Davidson.
Sentencing Davidson, Judge Robin Onions said: “Despite the offence you have committed I do have some sympathy for you because your home life is unhappy.
“Your father is dead, you mother has her own problems, you have a brother and sister with drug problems and another in prison. You have become in many ways a sneak thief.
“The unfortunate owner will never see any of that money. This offence has caused him serious problems and he will serve his own type of sentence.
“Ask yourself in prison if the men you see around you have made a success of themselves.”
Davidson has already served 99 days in custody which will count towards his sentence and if he is released early he will spend the rest of the sentence on licence.
Davidson, of Liverpool, was arrested on April 26 for other matters and fully admitted the burglary.
Mr Shane Crawford, mitigating, said: “I can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
“He has no supportive family or skills that would make him attractive to an employer.
“He has a drug addiction and this is the only method by which he knows of making some sort of income.”
By Catherine Roche
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