Man who stole widower's wife's jewellery on Isle of Man jailed

Nigel Collister was jailed for 32 months for two counts of burglary

A man who broke into the house of a friend whose wife had recently died and stole jewellery that had belonged to her has been jailed for 32 months.

Nigel Collister, 61, previously of Andreas, Isle of Man, admitted stealing items worth up to £20,000 in September.

The court heard he had a pouch containing a lock of the woman's hair and a silver ring when he was arrested.

Deemster Graeme Cook said Collister had targeted the 84-year-old man at a "vulnerable" time.

The court heard he had been a lodger at the victim's daughter's house in Andreas for three years prior to the burglary.

In September, while the man was visiting family in the UK, Collister smashed a patio window at his house with a screwdriver, before using it to prise open a grandfather clock to steal the items, which had been hidden inside it.

Took advantage

The court heard he then sold many of the items with the intention of repaying a £5,000 debt he owed to the widower.

Although some of the items had been recovered by police, a number had already been sold on for scrap.

Among the items stolen was an engagement ring that had been a "favourite" of the victim's wife, who had died two months earlier, the court heard.

After he was arrested, it transpired some of the victim's daughter's jewellery had also been stolen and sold by Collister.

Sentencing him, Deemster Cook said it was the "meanest" case of its kind he had come across on the island.

Collister had taken "advantage" of the victim who had trusted him and who was "of course vulnerable" as he had "just lost his wife", he added.