Castle's honeymoon suite ransacked on wedding day

Robert Paling, of no fixed abode, appeared before Derwentside Magistrates' Court, in Consett, County Durham, yesterday, and pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, relating to bottles of shampoo he took from the castle during the spree in August last year.

The court heard that Paling had been with a group of friends who had been drinking in pubs and houses in the city.

After sitting outside the castle to admire the view, the friends made their way inside and ended up in the Bishop's Suite.

A short while later, at 7pm, a member of staff called the castle's catering manager to the suite, which had been prepared for a couple holding their wedding reception that evening.

The staff found the room had been ransacked.

Chandeliers had been pulled from the ceiling and a bottle of sparkling wine was taken from the fridge.

Bottles of perfume were scattered on the floor, furniture had been moved around and a carved section of wood from a four-poster bed had been pulled off and damaged.

The court heard the room had been damaged so badly that the owners of Durham Castle had to pay to put the bride and groom up at Lumley Castle, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

Paling, a former practice nurse of 13 years, was originally charged with criminal damage but the charge was later dropped.

Suzanne Hanson, in mitigation, said there had been no malice or intent on Paling's part, and that he wanted to write to the couple involved to apologise.

She told the court: "He is an intelligent man. During his police interview, he was told it was a honeymoon suite. His reaction was he was devastated for the couple."

She said Paling had been suffering a number of difficulties at the time, including misdiagnosis of cancer.

She said that the chemotherapy he has been given resulted in him being left him with long-term health problems.

Paling was given a 24-month conditional discharge for his early guilty plea and ordered to pay £80 costs.