Kieron Heslop tried to steal a cement roller only to find it was too big for his getaway van (Picture: Northumbria Police / SWNS)
Two incompetant thieves have been dubbed ‘Dumb and Dumber’ after they tried stealing a road roller – which ended up being too big for their getaway van.
Kieron Heslop and his accomplice Paul Stephenson pinched the heavy work vehicle from a building site near the Newcastle Falcons rugby club on the day of the Queen’s funeral last year.
The bumbling duo chose September 19 as the date for their crime spree after assuming the site would be deserted while people stayed at home to pay their respects to the late monarch.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how the pair had travelled there in a stolen van, which had cloned plates, and tried to load £200 worth of diesel and a cement roller into their vehicle.
But the pair soon became stuck when they tried to push the stolen roller, worth £10,000, into the back of their van only to discover it wouldn’t fit.
Keiron and his accomplice planned their robbery on the day of the Queen’s funeral (Picture: Northumbria Police/SWNS)
The stolen cement roller was clearly too big for their stolen van (Picture: SWNS)
The criminals were spotted struggling with the high-value machine by security guards on CCTV, and police officers quickly arrived at the scene with a dog in tow and caught the culprits red-handed.
Heslop, 31, of Hall Lane estate, Willington, Crook, County Durham, and Stephenson, 31, of Glenluce, Birtley, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, both admitted theft.
Penny Hall, defending Heslop, said he has a criminal record and was homeless at the time but is now in employment and has ‘broken the cycle he had been in’.
Miss Hall said the offence was not sophisticated and added: ‘There are photographs of the roller being put into the back of the van, it clearly doesn’t fit.
‘They were caught at the scene.’
Jonathan Cousins, defending Stephenson, who has been an officer in the Territorial Army and was at a ‘low point’ in his life, said: ‘He has no previous convictions.’
Heslop was arrested by officers at the scene and sentenced to nine months in prison (Picture: Northumbria Police / SWNS)
The court heard Stephenson has made ‘extensive efforts’ to get his life back on track after the offence.
Mr Recorder Alistair MacDonald KC sentenced Heslop to nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with programme requirements and 150 hours unpaid work.
Stephenson was sentenced to a community order for 12 months with 100 hours unpaid work.
The judge said: ‘There were elements of sophistication but also elements of naive foolishness.’
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The pair targeted a construction site on the date of the Queen’s funeral.
