Homeless man who burgled MOT centre was identified by blood left at scene

A homeless man who burgled an MOT centre in town was identified by blood he left at the scene.Paul Simper, 43, pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to steal when he appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.He also admitted causing criminal damage to the value of £100.

The court heard that shortly before midnight on October 31, Simper and one other man arrived at J & I Motor Engineers on Valingers Road. Nobody was in the building at the time.They entered the building with an intent to steal, and smashed a window in the process.Police attended the premises the following morning and spotted them on CCTV footage, and Simper – of Riversway in North Lynn – was also identified from blood found at the scene. During subsequent inquiries, he claimed the blood could have come from an old syringe.Magistrates adjourned Simper’s case until October 3 in order for a pre-sentence report to be carried out. He has been released on unconditional bail. In mitigation, solicitor Charlotte Winchester said: “Mr Simper’s life at the time was dire – he was homeless.“He didn’t steal anything. The damage was caused when he broke in, but at the time he was homeless with no money at all.“Since them, there has been an improvement.” Ms Winchester said Simper has been complying with the probation service since his offence, and that things have been “far better” for him in general.He has also been “compliant” in following rules which allow him to stay in homeless accommodation, she added.Simper has also been receiving help from The Purfleet Trust, although the solicitor admitted he has “long-standing substance abuse issues”.“But what I can clearly see is there has been an improvement,” Ms Winchester said. “For Mr Simper, this is a step in the right direction. I would ask that you look at a community sentence for him.“I would hope that he would be able to comply with the probation service.”