From the
Daily Mail:
Railway thief just out of jail takes advantage of new carriage lay-out to steal ^13,500 of baggage^but claims he had to because he wasn't given a big enough government handout when leaving prison
Thief claims he returned to crime because benefits left him short on his rent
Sean McIlroy, from Exeter, used scissors to get into baggage
The crime spree lasted six weeks in which he stole from 19 passengers
The gambling addict targeted laptops, cameras and video equipment
Judge calls for new security measures to protect passengers
A railway thief has been jailed after he took advantage of new style carriage lay-outs to steal ^13,500 worth of baggage from trains during journeys in the South West region.
Sean McIlroy, 33, from Exeter, Devon, blamed his six week crime spree on a lack of benefits, saying his ^40 release grant from prison left him ^10 short on his rent.
He travelled as far afield as Bath and Swindon but carried out most of his thefts on main line trains between Tiverton, Newton Abbot, Totnes and Exeter. He operated on First Great Western, Virgin Cross Country and South West Trains.
The gambling addict struck 19 times in the space of six weeks and carried a pair of scissors which he used to cut open bags if they were locked.
Among the items he stole were the entire belongings of a young traveller who was moving to the West Country and a complete set of Masonic regalia.
Some of the people whose lost luggage was taken were so traumatised they no longer want to use trains at all, the court heard.
Judge Martin Meeke declared that users of new style carriages need special protection from thieves.
McIlroy admitted 19 thefts and one offence of going equipped and was jailed for two years by at Exeter Crown Court.
He told him: 'You began these offences very shortly after your release from jail. Your way of operating was to get on a train where the luggage was stored at the end of the compartment, take it, and get off at a convenient stop.
'Like most of the population I know the layout of trains these days and as more seats are fitted in each carriage the overhead racks can only take small suitcases and passengers with larger ones have to leave them in the luggage racks.
'That means every traveller has to trust others on the train. The loss to passengers was in the order of ^13,500 of which maybe ^11,000 has not been recovered.
'That value does not begin to describe the anguish and upset, especially if someone is leaving home to go somewhere with everything they need in their luggage and you steal it.'
His haul included laptops, cameras, video equipment jewellery and personal effects.
His victims - 13 women and six men - included a retired policeman whose medication was in his baggage.
Most did not realise their possessions had been taken until they reached their destination.
Police recovered ^2,500 worth of the stolen goods.
Gordon Richings, prosecuting, said McIlroy was jailed by magistrates in Barnstaple in September for 24 weeks for similar offences of stealing luggage on trains in North Devon.
He was released from Exeter Prison on December 18 last year and the thefts started almost immediately on trains across the West Country on the Tarka▸ Line to North Devon, the court was told
Defending James Taghdissian, said McIlroy came out of jail with just a discharge grant of just ^40 and went back to crime because he could not afford the ^50 he needed to rent a room.
He said: 'It was all too inevitable he would fall back to offending in the way that he did. He has now re-established contact with his mother so in the future he will have more help and support.'
In 2010 McIlroy was jailed for a year for stealing cash and gems from his own grandmother.
