A DRUG addict was paid to take part in “a wicked heist” that saw £36,000 worth of TV sets destined for the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic stolen, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Martin Derby was one of three men who took part in the “inside job” at Yorkshire Logistics Group at Knightsbridge Industrial Estate on Brackenbeck Road in Bradford.

The overnight burglary saw 36 new television sets worth £1,000 each loaded on to a van and driven off, prosecutor Jessica Heggie said.

Derby, 32, of Gerard House, Fairhaven Green, Bradford, pleaded guilty to burgling the premises on Sunday, April 25 last year.

Miss Heggie said that two people were seen by a manager pointing to the CCTV cameras at the address the day before the raid.

The following day, he saw a shutter door open when he checked the CCTV on his phone. The police were called and the burglary was discovered.

The intruders had left their footprints on a freshly painted floor at the warehouse and they were caught on camera using the key pad lock to get in.

Derby was seen taking instructions on his phone. He was the only one not masked and gloved and he was recognised by the police because he had a distinctive tattoo.

Three pallets of television sets were loaded on to a works van which was tracked to Queensbury and found abandoned and empty.

Miss Heggie said the stolen televisions, valued at £36,000 were never recovered.

The burglars had knowledge of the premises because they knew the key code and where to find the keys to the van.

Derby, who was not an employee, was arrested from his home two days later, telling officers: “There are no TVs in here.”

He admitted the offence in interview, saying he was paid £300 to take part in the burglary and needed the money to fuel his drug addiction.

He did not know who his accomplices were or where the televisions went. They were transferred on to two vehicles from the works van.

“The TVs were due to be gifted to the NHS.” Miss Heggie said.

Derby had 35 previous convictions for 66 offences, including many for theft. His record included begging and multiple breaches of a Criminal Behaviour Order.

His barrister, Ken Green, said Derby maintained he did not know about the burglary until he arrived at the premises, then he felt threatened to go along with it. That was why he was not masked and gloved like the others.

It was “an inside job” but he was the only one prosecuted.

He was homeless at the time and his chaotic lifestyle had left him vulnerable. He now had settled accommodation and it was his first conviction for burglary.

Recorder Taryn Turner told Derby he was “within a whisker” of going to jail for the “wicked crime.”

The “heist” needed significant planning and the building was targeted as “an inside job.”

But Derby had serious mental health problems and he had struggled with his drug addiction.

He was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 250 hours of unpaid work. He must also obey a six-month curfew order and undergo a nine month drug rehabilitation requirement.