A BUNGLING burglar who was spared jail in June when he had to be rescued by the fire brigade trying to break into a house has admitted his latest theft bid.

Appearing before Swindon Crown Court on Wednesday morning from Bullingdon prison, Frederick Moulton, 53, formerly of Spring Close, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary.

He tried to break into a house in Rayfield Grove, Ferndale, on September 13 – less than three months after he was discovered hanging from a town centre window by firefighters.

Last week he admitted burgling an office in Commercial Road in July, 2019, making off with laptops, mobile phones and a computer bag.

His barrister, Anjali Gohil, told the crown court that police wanted to put a list of other unsolved burglaries to him so they might be taken into consideration by the judge and the slate wiped clean. However, a schedule detailing those crimes had not been provided to Moulton’s lawyers.

Ms Gohil said her client was keen to be sentenced: “He was explaining to me over the link he is struggling with his mental health and he just wants to get it done.”

Judge Peter Crabtree adjourned sentence to November 3, ordering that the Crown Prosecution Service and Wiltshire Police produce the schedule of TICs. The unsolved crimes could be put to Moulton by the police officers at a consultation in prison next week.

“If he wants to clean the slate that is in everybody’s interests,” he said.

The judge told prosecutor Lucie Stoker he wanted more information about the bungled burglary in June that earned him an 18 month community order with magistrates ordering him onto a thinking skills course.

Swindon Advertiser:

How the Adver reported the burglary in June 2020

That offence - on Thursday, June 18 - saw Moulton forced to call 999 on himself in the early hours after getting stuck trying to break into a flat on Groundwell Road.

He had been looking for something to sell in order to clear an amphetamines debt.

A sock left in the flat, which was being refurbished, was the only indication of his presence in the property.

But the 53-year-old ended up having to call the fire brigade after his leg got stuck in a window and he was left dangling outside the house.

Firefighters called the police once it became clear Moulton should not have been at the house – let alone stuck in the window.

The downstairs flat was being completely refurbished and, as a result, there were few items inside. Nothing was taken.

In his interview with police, he’d been out and about in the early hours, spotted scaffolding outside the house, noticed a window was slightly ajar and tried to climb through it.

Following that sentence, the building’s owner Tim Maslin criticised the decision to give Moulton a community order. “It’s not going to rehabilitate him, it’s not going to change his ways. He should have been banged up.

“Police have done their job. They’ve caught him in the act. He’s pleaded guilty, because he didn’t have much choice. But once again the magistrates decide to let him off.

“The community order’s not worth the paper it’s written on.”