Victims of prolific Oxford burglar who was jailed for a spree of destruction describe his sentence as a farce

They said Adam Kupka’s punishment for the misery he wreaked on 11 community centres, clubs and churches was too lenient.

And the chairman of one of the organisations he targeted said he hoped the 28-year-old ‘career burglar’ who has 10 previous convictions, would “suffer” behind bars.

Kupka, of Field Avenue, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court yesterday after admitting nine counts of burglary and three counts of attempted burglary between July last year and February.

Graeme Lewis, chairman of the North Oxford Conservative Club, which had its alarm system cut, safe raided and window smashed in January called Kupka’s sentence a “farce”. He said: “We are not wealthy. We have not got money to chuck away. The damage he’s done is about £4,000 and the insurance won’t cover all of it.

“Everybody was absolutely furious because they put money into this club to keep it going.

“We see clubs all the time closing and shutting down because they can’t get funds, so something like this just infuriates people who are trying to keep a good thing in the community going.”

Neil Hopper, chairman of Oxford Harlequins rugby club, said he was glad to see Kupka jailed.

He said: “He has got his comeuppance.

“All we try to do is instil good values in our kids who play for us, and for them to see police officers carrying out their investigation after he had been in and smashed the place up was just disgusting.

“He didn’t give a monkey’s about what he did to us and how it affects the whole club. We’re the ones picking up the pieces behind him.

“Prison will not change him – they treat them too nice in there.”

Harlequins’ clubhouse in Marston Ferry Road suffered £2,000-£3,000 of damage in the raid and £500 was stolen from the till in January.

Club steward Brian Wood had to race against time to get the damage fixed before the club hosted its home game a week after the rampage.

Graeme Lewis, chairman of the North Oxford Conservative Club, which had its alarm system cut, safe raided and window smashed in January called Kupka’s sentence a “farce”.

He said: “We are not wealthy. We have not got money to chuck away. The damage he’s done is about £4,000 and the insurance won’t cover all of it.

“Everybody was absolutely furious because they put money into this club to keep it going.

“We see clubs all the time closing and shutting down because they can’t get funds, so something like this just infuriates people who are trying to keep a good thing in the community going.”

Kupka also left a pool of shattered glass throughout the Gladiator Club in Iffley Road after he broke a window and door and forced his way into the bar using a fire extinguisher in January.

Club chairman Brian Richards said it “looked like a bomb had hit it”.

He said: “I do not think it is a very long sentence for what he has done and all the people he has affected by doing this.

“We had a tin for the British Heart Foundation that the boys in our Gladiator Indoor League for bowls always put money in every Sunday.

“We’d chosen the charity because member Roy Hook from Kidlington died of a heart attack and we wanted to do this in his memory.

“We had raised about £400 before Kupka came in and took it all – that was the most heartbreaking of all the damage.

“It’s not just us that has lost out but also a charity – they do not deserve that.”

Mr Richards said the club had been forced to close the morning after the raid, and a coffee morning with 70 pensioners was cancelled.

He said: “We’ve been through a lot as a club.

“But what he does not realise is that he has left us to pick up his pieces. He cost us £4,000 in damage. It was awful.”

It is not the first time Kupka has been behind bars for burglary.

Cathy Olliver, prosecuting, told the court he had been convicted for 10 burglaries in the past 15 years.

She said: “On April 30, 2014 he was given 18 months for a dwelling burglary.

“In 2015 on April 11 at Oxford Magistrates Court he received a sentence of 18 weeks’ imprisonment for a non-dwelling burglary and on August 1, 2015 he was given 12 weeks’ imprisonment for one burglary and a further 12 weeks consecutive for another burglary.”

Adrian Amer, defending, said since Kupka had been held on remand he started a number of courses at Bullingdon to help rehabilitate him.

He said: “He is doing something positive. He has taken a course in horticulture and is taking steps to help him with his alcohol misuse.

“His need to address his behaviour is an indication of his remorse in relation to these offences and perhaps now he understands the seriousness of what he has done.”

Speaking after the sentencing, detective sergeant James Senior from Thames Valley Police said it was an “excellent result”.

He said: “He has affected so many people by his crimes.

“It is a substantial sentence but from the victim’s point of view I do not think any sentence will be long enough because of the impact it had on their ability to provide a service to the community.”