A MAN has been jailed for his part in a high value burglary at a Deeside construction site.

Wayne Tarran, of Poplar Avenue in Shotton, appeared at Mold Crown Court for sentence on Thursday.

The 38-year-old had previously been convicted of burglary.

Richard Edwards, prosecuting, told the court that during the early hours of July 7, the defendant and three other individuals entered the construction site of a new paper mill at the Airfields, Deeside Industrial Estate.

They arrived in a van registered to Tarran and stole just under £60,000 worth of copper cable, using tools and vehicles at the site to chop up and transport the material away.

CCTV cameras were turned upwards, but a tracker on a truck taken from the site showed where the wire had been taken - Oakenholt.

On July 13, a warrant was executed at the location identified by police via the tracker and some £15,000 worth of cable was found in a van.

It was discovered that the day after the burglary, the defendant and another male attended a recycling centre in Wrexham where more than 700kg of copper wire was weighted out and sold - Just under £5,000 having been transferred to Tarran's bank for the metal.

Wayne Tarran (NWP)Wayne Tarran (NWP) (Image: North Wales Police) Mr Edwards said the burglary suggested a high degree of planning and had resulted in substantial loss.

Simon Rogers, defending, told the court: "The best evidence of remorse is his guilty plea.

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"When he was aware that the police were looking for him, he made arrangements to attend the police station voluntarily.

"When discussing the matter with the pre-sentence report author, he made no attempt to limit his involvement or culpability.

"He provided an explanation as to why he became involved.

"He was in debt, and foolishly tried to gamble his way out of the situation which made it worse.

"The debt began to impact on him, making him depressed and impacting on his thinking."

Judge Nicola Saffman handed down a two year and eight month prison sentence, to be served immediately.