A MAN who attempted to steal diesel from a Wrexham farm has been jailed.

Derek Lee Adamson appeared at Llandudno Magistrates Court on Monday.

The 40-year-old, who told the court he was of no fixed abode, admitted that on March 27 this year at a farm in Bowling Bank, he attempted to steal diesel belonging to Mark Andrew Brereton.

Sara Worland, prosecuting, told the court the complainant was alerted to motion in a barn by sensors and went to check.

When he got to the bottom of his drive, he saw what appeared to be a hose coming from the side of his pick up truck.

He saw a person in a field by a tractor, before realising the vehicle also had a hose in it - with diesel pouring from the fuel tank.

When the police arrived, that person was identified as Adamson.

He told officers he was in the area to fix his mum's car.

In a victim impact statement, the complainant said the incident caused him anxiety as he had been targeted before.

Euros Jones, defending, said: "There is some degree of planning involved; he took a hose to the property."

He asked the custodial element of the sentence be kept to a minimum, noting the offence had placed his client in breach of a suspended sentence order imposed for a dissimilar matter last year.

District Judge Gwyn Jones said: "It is clear you equipped yourself in advance.

"Rural crime had a significant impact - in exactly the same way as other crime has an impact in towns and cities.

"Long gone are the days when farms could rely on trust.

"They now have to take measures to protect themselves."

Judge Jones activated the 26 week suspended sentence which Adamson previously received for an offence of harassment.

He handed him a 20 week term of imprisonment on top of that for the attempted diesel theft, making a total custodial sentence of 46 weeks.