A “DETERMINED” burglar described as one of Manchester most notorious criminals stole £7,500 in cash and stock by breaking into a newsagent's through the ceiling. 

Roy Boodle, aged 33, of Castlecroft Road, Bury, was sentenced to a year and four months in prison for the burglary of KB News in the early hours of July 1. 

Bolton Crown Court heard how Boodle broke in the newsagent in Bolton Street, Bury by scaling a roof and forcing his way into the flat above the shop. 

He then prised up the floorboards and pushed through the ceiling tiles to lower himself into the newsagent below, but was captured on the shop’s CCTV. 

As well as stealing £7,500 of cash, cigarettes, mobile phone top-up cards and a laptop, Boodle’s break-in caused an estimated £1,700 of damage to the building. 

He was arrested on July 7 and pleaded guilty to the burglary and to possessing a small amount of cannabis at an earlier hearing at Bury Magistrates Court. 

Michael Lea, defending, said the burglary had been a “spur of the moment decision” but prosecution counsel Ian Metcalfe pointed to Boodle’s long history of similar offences.

Judge Timothy Clayson, sentencing Boodle, said: “This was a very determined burglary and it was all about stealing items which could be sold on. 

“You have a long record of this type of offending, and when this offence was committed while you were on probation.” 

In 2010, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Detective Inspector John Mazzolai described Boodle as “one of Manchester’s most notorious criminals” and “a top target for the Bury division”. 

Boodle was jailed for three-and-a-half years in February 2010 after pleading guilty to three counts of burglary and one of handling stolen goods. 

He admitted stealing thousands of pounds of cigarettes, alcohol and plasma televisions from shops to fund a £100-a-day crack cocaine habit. 

In December 2008, he stole a charity box from Bury Police Station which contained just £10 for victims of domestic abuse. 

Boodle went on the run after the incident, causing his name and picture to be published on GMP’s “most wanted” website. 

He was arrested soon after using his Facebook page to taunt police that he could not be caught. 

He also served a two year sentence for two robberies in 2005 and in 2013 was sentenced to 16 months in prison for two burglaries in June of the same year.

After the hearing, KB Newsagents owner Mohammed Asram said: "I am pleased that he has been jailed but 16 months is not long enough.

"What he did shows that he is a professional thief and he needs to be punished more than this.

"I came into the shop the day after it happened and was shocked by the extent of the damage.

"It wasn’t just what he stole, but also the mess he made to my shop. It looked awful.

"I cannot believe the lengths he went to to get in."

Mr Asram added: "We had CCTV in the shop but it was too dark to record much.

"Then when this thief removed some cigarettes from a shelf, a light came on and his face showed perfectly.

"Police knew who the guy in the footage was straight away."