A rogue tenant caused around £2,000 worth of damage after stealing his landlord’s dishwasher and fridge freezer.
Several door handles were also missing from the property, stolen by tenant Vincent Baldwin, 31. The removal of the dishwasher caused a flood which spread to the flat below. Baldwin had left the property, leaving the front door unlocked and water spreading.
He had rented the property for six months from landord Andrew Mercer, who also owned the flat below. Mercer had asked his mother to check on the property in November, after receiving a phone call from the tenant in the lower flat. The dishwasher was discovered unplugged and in the lounge.
Upon returning the next day, it was discovered that the dishwasher was gone and the kitchen floor flooded. Several door handles were missing, as was a fridge freezer, together worth £698.99.
The total damage repair cost is unknown, but expected to be in the region of £2,000.
Baldwin was arrested, and admitted to theft and two counts of failure to surrender to bail. He claimed that he thought the items had been left behind by the previous tenant, and attempted to explain that he had taken them to offer to his girlfriend.
He denied criminal damage but was later found guilty after a trial. It was reported that he had a heroin problem at the time of the offences.