A Manchester crook dubbed the ‘Worm burglar’ for his earthy tactics has been jailed for four and a half years.
Leigh Cassidy, of Hyde Road, Gorton, burgled eight pubs around Greater Manchester between March 2013 and May 2014.
He earned his mucky moniker for his method – crawling on his belly to avoid detection from the pubs’ alarm systems.
But he was unable to worm his way out of a jail sentence today, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.
Detective Constable Adele Coulter said: “On each occasion, Cassidy broke into the pub and in an effort to avoid the alarm sensors, he crawled through the pub on his front until he got to his target – hence his nickname, the ‘Worm Burglar’.
“Once there, he raided the gaming machines, stealing hundreds of pounds.”
The slimy swindler stole around £7,000 over the 14 month period, racking up thousands of pounds more in damage to machines and pub buildings.
The pubs targeted were the Hinds Head, Wilfred Wood and Moor Top in Stockport, the Trevor Arms in Chorlton and the Sidings in Levenshulm.
He was also sentenced for burgling a pub in Derbyshire.
“Cassidy thought he was being clever and was getting away with it but it goes to show that crime does not pay and you will be brought to justice eventually,” said Detective Constable Coulter.
