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A 23-year-old Oldbury drug addict who left a firm in the area in dire straits after he took part in a £50,000 raid on the premises has been put behind bars for three years.

"You destroyed in one night what took this company 19 years to build up," Judge Michael Challinor told father of two Scott Payton.

He described Payton as a "persistent and professional" burglar and said he had to pass a sentence for the "protection of the public."

The Judge said the raid on Beta Heat Treatment in Oldbury was a "particularly" serious offence because it had left the firm which had 20 employees facing major problems.

"You damaged this business quite badly," he told Payton. "You damaged their goodwill and their reputation and what you did meant they were unable to meet deadlines for customers."

Miss Samantha Powis prosecuting said the property taken from the company which dealt with firms like Lever Brothers and Toyota included a steel mould valued at £19,500 together with other highly valuable items.

The burglary resulted in delays to customers and cost the company business, Miss Powis told Wolverhampton Crown Court.

But she said the raid had been filmed on a computer web camera and police officers were able to identify Payton - a man with 13 previous convictions for burglary.

Payton, of Beresford Road, Oldbury, admitted burglary and, stressed Mr Jas Mann defending, it was a first major crime for someone who was a "small-time thief."

He said Payton had been asked by others to lend a hand in the raid in which a lorry was used to take away the stolen property and he had gone along "willingly."

Payton was given a "small renumeration" for his part in the offence, said Mr Mann.

2:42pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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