The jailing of a ‘selfish’ thief who raided collection boxes from churches in Oxfordshire and Surrey was welcomed by police officers.
Christopher Coulthard, 61, was caught last month after a parishioner in Radley spotted him back in the village where, two months earlier, he had been caught on CCTV pilfering parish funds from a charity box at St James’ Church.
Last week, Oxford Crown Court heard he had carried out similar raids on churches in towns across Surrey. He also stole cash from a woman’s purse during a burglary at a Roman Catholic primary school in Guildford.
He was jailed for three years and four months by Judge Ian Pringle KC on Friday. You can read our full report from court here.
Welcoming the jail sentence, Surrey Police’s PC Lee Newman said: “Coulthard would repeatedly take money, often donated in good faith to charitable causes, for his own selfish gain.
"I am pleased that, as a result of the tenacity and hard work by a number of police forces, he is now behind bars and has been held to account for his appalling behaviour.”
READ MORE: Find all our stories from Oxford's courts
A criminal behaviour order bans crook Coulthard for life from going into any religious establishment in England and Wales without first getting the written permission of an office holder.
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