Jailed burglar targeted churches

St Mary's, Santon Downham was among the 80 Picture: Simon Knot

A burglar who targeted churches has been jailed for five years after he was trapped by a text message.

Christopher Coulthard, 43, was arrested when a builder who had signed up for police text alerts saw him entering a church near Brandon in Suffolk.

Police had sent 6,000 texts asking Suffolk residents to be on the lookout.

Coulthard admitted theft at a church in Santon Downham, Suffolk, burglaries at Weeting in Norfolk, Brinfield in Salop and Southwell in Oxon.

He also asked for 76 other church-related offences to be taken into consideration at an earlier hearing and was jailed at Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday.

He was said to have disguised himself as a tourist while he burgled churches and chapels at the rate of 50 a month.

'Prolific offender'

Suffolk Police spokesman Mike Nunn said Coulthard had been released from prison and was on parole when he committed the latest offences.

It is the first time that anyone has been arrested as a direct result of a text message sent by the Police Direct scheme, which was launched last August.

Chief Sup Mark Cordell, of Suffolk Police, said: "This outlines the power of Police Direct and proves what an excellent crime-fighting tool it is.

"The eyes and ears of the public are essential to help us fight crime and Police Direct enables us to harness that power.

"With the help of Police Direct we have been able to lock up a prolific offender who has committed a large number of church burglaries across the UK."