Prolific burglar jailed again after rifling patients' belongings on Northampton hospital ward

A prolific burgler has been sent back to jail after rifling through patients' lockers and drawers in a Northampton hospital ward.

Wayne Townsend was also convicted of assaulting security staff who tried to stop him marching through Northampton General Hospital in December last year.

Townsend denied going on to Victoria ward at as a trespasser with intent to steal on December 16 when he appeared in court before Christmas.

He was found guilty by Northampton magistrates at a summary trial last week and sent down for 12 weeks.

Townsend also denied a charge of assault but was found guilty and ordered to pay compensation of £100 to his victim.

■ READ THIS: Jail terms, suspended sentences, disqualifications and fines handed down by local magistratesThe 36-year-old pleaded guilty to a third charge of intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress, used threatening, abusive or insulting words or offence and was sentenced to four weeks in jail, also concurrent.

Two more jail terms of 12 and four weeks will run concurrently alongside the first.

Townsend, of Hunsbarrow Road in the town, had been jailed for two years in July by a Northampton Crown Court judge after targeting a number of businesses in and around Northampton but had already served the bulk of his sentence while on remand.

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