A BUNGLING burglar broke both his legs when he fell off the roof of a supermarket after stealing nearly £30,000 from a cash machine inside.

Robert Beer screamed out in pain following his tumble during an escape bid at the Aldi store on Newport’s Spytty Road, prosecutor Rhodri Jones said.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how the defendant targeted the store during the early hours of the morning with other men he has refused to name.

They were rumbled by a supermarket manager who came to work to start his shift on December 2, 2019.

READ MORE

Mr Jones said: “The employee saw two men popping up from behind the cash machine.

“They were wearing dark clothing and they climbed up a ladder on to the roof.

“The member of staff could then hear someone screaming in pain outside the store.

“He went outside and saw a man who told him he had broken his hand and ankle after falling off the roof.”

Beer was arrested and taken to Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital after breaking both his legs, an arm and his sternum.

When he was interviewed by detectives, he told them: “I was only doing it for the cash.

“I was trying to get some money for Christmas for the kids.”

Mr Jones told the court how £28,950 was stolen from the ATM and the cost of the damage following the raid was £6,500.

Mr Jones added: “There was a significant degree of planning involved in this offence.”

Beer, 41, of Newport Road, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to burglary.

The prosecutor said the defendant had 30 previous convictions for 73 offences and was jailed for two years for burglary and theft in 2018.

Nik Strobl, for Beer, said: “He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

“This offence has resulted in a dramatic change in the defendant’s life.

“He broke both his legs and his left ankle was shattered and he will never fully recover.”

Mr Strobl added how his client had returned to a life of crime after previously being involved in running a hairdressing business.

Judge Richard Williams told Beer: “You intended to yield a significant haul of cash and you took with you tools and a ladder.”

The defendant was jailed for 29 months and is set to face a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing on April 30.