A thief went on a countryside stealing spree taking everything from quad bikes and strimmers to luxury wellies.
Karl Bye, of Rosalind Street, Ashington, began his spree in the early hours of Monday when he travelled to a Blyth farm.
He made off with some expensive Wellington boots and a host of tools including hedge cutters, strimmers and a saw valued at around £1,350.
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When the owners realised that padlocks and locks had been tampered with and the items were missing, they checked their CCTV.
The footage clearly showed Bye putting on the wellies and walking around the yard.
But before the CCTV had been reviewed, Bye headed to a business in the Bebside area later that morning.
A couple were busy watching quad bikes and while they were occupied, Bye stole two of the quad bikes, valued at around £3,050.
However, he was again caught on CCTV and was recognised by a member of the public.
Northumbria Police’s Sergeant Ian Pattision was then able to positively ID the 36-year-old Ashington man in both sets of footage.
Bye was then arrested on suspicion of theft in the early hours of Tuesday.
His home was searched by officers who located the luxury wellies. Meanwhile, one of the quads was also uplifted.
Bye appeared at Mid and South East Northumberland Magistrates on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to burglary, theft, driving whilst disqualified and with no insurance and criminal damage – after he punched a police station wall during questioning.
He has been remanded in custody to await sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court next month.
Praising the team, Inspector Garry Neill said: “This was an excellent piece of policing by all involved, resulting in Bye offering a guilty plea and being remanded in custody within 48 hours of our first call out.
“After being alerted to the break-ins and thefts on Monday, within hours we had carried out enquiries at both scenes.
“A lot of hard work, including 18-hour-long shifts, then followed which involved officers spending hours trawling CCTV to positively ID Bye and get him before a court as soon as possible.
“This type of outcome does not just happen and requires a huge amount of work and dedication – so I would personally like to thank those officers involved.”
He added: “I also want to thank both the farm owner and business owner for diligently protecting their businesses with CCTV and assisting with our enquires at every step.”
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