A MAN seen wandering round a bus depot late at night drove off in a van parked by a staff member on site only an hour earlier, a court heard.

Richard Lee Bradford ripped out internal cctv equipment from the £12,000 vehicle, which is used for transporting staff based at the Go North-East premises, in Chester-le-Street.

But, he was unaware the Renault Kangoo van was fitted with a tracking system.

Durham Crown Court heard that thanks to the device the van was traced to a private car park behind a block of flats in Sanderson Villas, Gateshead, by which time £1,119.30 worth of damage was caused with the stripping out of the cctv equipment.

Forensic examination revealed a fingerprint of defendant Richard Lee Bradford on the internal door frame.

When the cctv at the depot was checked he was identified as the man seen loitering round the Picktree Lane premises, late on November 11.

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said Bradford was arrested later on November 12 and admitted entering the depot, but he said it was to ask about a job.

He claimed he previously worked for a cleaning company used by the bus company, but this was untrue.

Bradford also said staff members pointed him to an office, which Mr Bennett said was again found to be false.

When the forensic evidence was later put to him, Bradford claimed he took the van “for a spin”, but left it open with the keys still inside, and denied removing cctv equipment.

But, appearing at an earlier hearing, 37-year-old Bradford, of Albert Street, Grange Villa, near Chester-le-Street, admitted burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, and driving without insurance and a licence.

The court heard he has magistrates’ court convictions from 2013 for taking car keys from two factories and a pub, before driving off in vehicles parked outside the premises.

Laurie Scott, mitigating, said since the last of those, for which he was jailed for 24 weeks in July 2013, Bradford had kept out of trouble until the depot burglary.

She added that he hoped to settle down and find work.

Judge Christopher Prince said it appeared the bus depot offence was a more serious step-up from the previous three convictions.

Jailing him for two years, he told Bradford: “I wonder if you thought it was worth the risk, given that the sentences for those were a few weeks behind bars.”

Bradford was also banned from driving for two years.