A BURGLAR lamented “Why have they got that and I haven’t?” after he was caught breaking in to a Pembroke dessert shop while under the influence of drink and drugs.

At around 11.45pm on July 23, the occupants of the flat above Emburs Dessert Bar heard “loud banging” and what appeared to be the sound of a door being kicked in, prosecutor Freddie Lewendon said.

Looking out the window, they saw a man – later identified as Mcauley Breen – walking away from the property.

The owner was called, and CCTV from the Dessert Bar showed a man kicking in the front door and heading straight for the till.

He could be seen taking something out of the till, Mr Lewendon said. This was later found to have been a piece of paper, with no cash being kept in the till due to previous break-ins.

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Officers found a man matching the description of the burglar on a footpath heading towards Mill Pond. When arrested, he admitted to the officer that he had a Stanley knife in his pocket.

Breen admitted it was him in the CCTV footage, and when asked in interview why he broke in said: “Because why have they got that and I haven’t got that?”.

When told it was illegal to be carrying the Stanley knife, he replied “I don’t care”.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Breen was drunk and under the influence of drugs when breaking in to the dessert shop.

“We are a small business,” said the owner of Emburs, via a statement read out in court. “I’m just trying to earn an honest living.

“I used to stay late baking but I don’t any more as I don’t feel safe in case they come back.”

Breen, 27, of Colley Court in the Monkton area of Pembroke, has 17 previous convictions for 28 offences – including previous convictions for theft and for possession of a knife.

Jon Tarrant, in mitigation, said: “He offers his remorse. It was an isolated incident that occurred in the spur of the moment.”

Mr Tarrant admitted that had there been money in the till, Breen would have taken it, and added that the defendant understood a prison sentence would be “somewhat inevitable”.

Judge Huw Rees sentenced Breen to 10 months for the burglary, and a concurrent sentence of eight months for possessing the knife. These were suspended for 18 months. He must complete 25 days of rehabilitation activity requirement.

No order was made for compensation for the damage caused as Breen did not to have the means to pay it.

“Quite exceptionally I am giving you an opportunity,” Judge Rees told Breen.

“You need to understand it is time to stop behaving in this way. This petty way.”