Man sentenced for commercial burglaries in Bexhill town centre

Pictured: Alan Richardson

A man who burgled three businesses in Bexhill town centre has been jailed.

Alan Richardson, 49, of Devonshire Road, Bexhill, appeared before Lewes Crown Court on Friday, 23 December, after pleading guilty to three counts of burglary at an earlier hearing.

He had also admitted to interfering with a vehicle in Hastings.

He was sentenced to a total of 16 months imprisonment, after also breaching the conditions of a suspended sentence from November, 2021.

The court heard that Richardson broke into Pebbles on the Beach restaurant in Marina Court Avenue in the early hours of Saturday, 29 October, last year and stole a till containing a small amount of cash.

Four weeks later, between Wednesday, 23 November, and Thursday, 24 November, Richardson broke into IMG Chartered Accountants in Endwell Road and stole cash, a crystal decanter, two glasses in a box worth £70 and a Nescafe coffee jar.

During the early hours of Thursday, 24 November, he also burgled Poppyseed Bakery in Western Road and made off with a large quantity of cash.

Richardson had also damaged a vehicle, in Maze Hill, Hastings, on 4 October.

Rother District Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Olivia Carroll said: “This is a great result. Within 48 hours of a forensic identification we arrested Richardson and charged him with these burglaries and recovered the stolen property. 

“Business crime is impactive and we know what effect these break-ins had on the shop owners and the local community in Bexhill.

”I hope this result provides reassurance that we will take action when we can identify an offender and will continue to work alongside the business community to protect them from harm and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Sussex Police has its own Business Crime Team dedicated to tackling business crime and providing support to our business communities.

The team supports the business community by working closely with partners such as the Business Crime Reduction Partnership and Safer Sussex Business Partnership, businesses and customers to share intelligence across the county.

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, who launched the SSBP in February 2020, said: “In a short amount of time, this offender inflicted multiple incidents of damage to the property and livelihoods of residents and businesses in Bexhill.

“I am delighted that he has been successfully caught and prosecuted. This case perfectly illustrates why our Business Crime Team, along with information and intelligence-sharing groups such as our Safer Sussex Business Partnership, are so vital in successfully tackling prolific offenders.

“Cases like this are exactly why I am encouraging businesses and staff to report incidents so that Sussex Police can build the best possible data picture and collate the necessary evidence for successful prosecutions.

“Residents should feel hugely encouraged by this outcome and can look forward to our dedicated business crime team continuing its work and delivering positive results to make our county safer.”