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Swindon Magistrates Court A GROUNDWORKER used a stolen bank card to go on a £70 spree, a court heard. Russell Bastow, 41, tried to use the stolen Nationwide debit card to buy almost £50 worth of cigarettes. But by then the building society had flagged the unusual activity on the card and the transaction was declined. Bastow, who in January
was given 18 months in jail for his latest burglary, claimed the card had been given to him by another man. He’d used the card at various convenience stores in Swindon on the instructions of the man, although he suspected the bank card was not his.
Judge agrees Russell Bastow also a victim of the pandemic thisiswiltshire.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisiswiltshire.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Russell Bastow Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE A burglar whose record for breaking and entering dates back to 1993 has been jailed for his latest house raid. But Russell Bastow was spared the mandatory minimum sentence of three years usually given to “third strike” burglars after a judge at Swindon Crown Court heard the 41-year-old had turned his life around. He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.
Cannabis gardener discovered in his pants A cannabis gardener was found in a £116,000 Gorse Hill drug factory wearing only a pair of underpants, a court heard.
Cannabis found by police in the house Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE Albanian national Mirjan Smakaj was said to have been tricked into working at the cannabis factory -located in a terraced home in Omdurman Street - by fellow countrymen.