Burglar stole safes from cafe and chip shop

Douglas Courthouse heard Craig Tiernan entered the coffee shop through a window

A burglar who stole the safes out of two small businesses and drove them away in stolen vehicles has been jailed for three years and four months.

Craig Tiernan, 41, first targeted a coffee shop in Douglas in May last year before carrying out a similar theft from a chip shop in Port Erin three months later.

The court heard on both occasions he stole a vehicle to carry out the crime, one of which was unroadworthy at the time, before returning it to its original location.

As well as the safes, neither of which had been found, Tiernan also stole cash floats from both shops, Douglas Courthouse was told.

In the early hours of 28 May 2024, Tiernan had entered Costa Coffee in Strand Street, in the island's capital, through a window at the rear by climbing onto a roof using the bins outside, the court heard.

He was caught on CCTV wearing a hooded top and white face mask rummaging through drawers and storerooms in the shop and spending time inspecting a white safe, before pulling out the power cable for the surveillance system.

The court was told a resident of Market Street, which runs parallel to the back of the shop, had heard a loud metallic bang outside and her partner had gone to find out what it was.

When asked to keep the noise down, Tiernan said "no worries" and told the man he was working on the drains in the area.

He then stole a grey Honda Jazz from the Sefton car park and drove it to Market Street before loading the safe and a bag of tools into the boot - all captured on mobile phone video by the resident, the court was told.

Tiernan then returned the car – minus the safe - to its parking space and a short time later was captured on CCTV throwing the mask into a large hedge on Glen Falcon Road.

The court heard the safe contained £1,686 of takings for the previous four days.

Although the car owner, who had been working a nightshift at the time, was originally arrested by police, Tiernan was later identified as the culprit.

'Horrendous' record

The court was told that while he was on police bail for that offence Tiernan broke open the back door of the Port Erin Chippy and Diner on Station Road and again stole a safe.

That time he used a grey Fiat Scudo van he had stolen from the Spring Valley Industrial Estate to transport the safe, which contained £6,115, before again returning the vehicle between 17 and 20 August.

The van was not in a roadworthy condition and its rear brakes had been disconnected while it awaited repair at the time, the court was told.

He was arrested after being found hiding in the grounds of the Nunnery in Douglas in late August after a large-scale search, the court heard.

Tiernan later pleaded guilty to two counts each of burglary, taking a vehicle with the owner's consent, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance. He also admitted possession of cocaine.

Jailing him, Deemster Graeme Cook said he had a "quite horrendous" criminal record of similar offences, and his actions had been devastating to the two small local businesses.

He was also disqualified from driving for 10 years on top of the jail term.