A RAIDER who ripped copper piping from a house in Haslingden was spared jail – and a judge told him he should think himself “very lucky.”

Richard Mooney, 21, then living in the area, was caught leaving the property in Piccadilly Street, after an eagle-eyed resident had alerted the police.

Officers found the kitchen flooded, a wrench and bags, Burnley Crown Court was told.

Mooney, of Ballcarres Road, Chorley, had admitted house burglary, on March 20. He was given 52 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, with 12 months supervision and a six months drugs programme.

Michael Wallbank, prosecuting, said the tenant of the rented house had moved out three weeks before, but a lot of his belongings were still at the address.

A resident noticed three men acting suspiciously outside the house and called police They attended and arrested the defendant near the front door. Officers found copper piping had been stripped from the property and put in a bag, awaiting removal.

The defendant apologised when interviewed.

Adrian Williams, defending, said Mooney was not the most mature young man of his age and had had difficulties.

The solicitor, who urged the judge to suspend a custodial sentence, said: “This has been a wake-up call to him.”

Sentencing, Judge Beverley Lunt told Mooney: “You have got problems, mostly of your own making, your addiction to cannabis being one of them, and you were certainly hanging around with the wrong people.”