A burglar who hid in a leisure centre storeroom so he could steal alcohol after hours has been jailed.
Ashley Fairhurst concealed himself in the storeroom as staff were locking up Ferryhill Leisure Centre on February 18. The 33-year-old then raided the building and stole alcohol and food from the bar area before leaving via a fire exit just before 2am.
An alarm notification was sent to the centre manager who initially thought the door had been thrown open from the wind but when he attended and realised internal doors were also open, alerted the police. Fairhurst, of Stephenson Street, Ferryhill, also burgled Harry's Mini Market, in Ferryhill, just a few days later after climbing through a hole in the roof just after 7am.
