‘Lonely’ yob took advantage of Middlesbrough riot to raid Chinese takeaway and steal cash from till

A “lonely” yob who “craved to be part of a group” jumped up and down “goading” a burglar to steal a till as hundreds caused chaos in Middlesbrough.

Burglar Bradley Playford “took advantage” of the town centre riots to steal from the Red Lantern restaurant. The 24-year-old was caught on CCTV throwing missiles at the windows of the Middlesbrough eatery before using his arm, then a bottle, to remove smashed glass from the door frame.

The Grove Hill man was later seen smashing the till from the Chinese takeaway – before sharing his loot with another burglar.

However, as the protest reached Clarendon Road items were thrown and police officers made the decision to form a line to prevent the mob from entering the road. Violence then erupted leading to windows being smashed, businesses damaged and missiles thrown.

At around 3.30pm, items were thrown at the Red Lantern restaurant on Parliament Road. The eatery was closed at the time and nobody was inside.

Playford, who was wearing red shorts, was caught on CCTV throwing items at the window causing it to smash. He then walks up to the door and uses his arm to remove smashed glass. He then comes back with a bottle to remove more glass from the sides of the door.

He is then spotted “jumping up and down and goading” another male to steal the till from inside the restaurant, Ms Masters said. The court is then shown another video, which was uploaded to TikTok with the caption ‘Middlesbrough has fallen’, showing Playford smashing the till on the floor before taking out money from inside the till.

In a victim personal statement, the owners daughter stated that they were “very frightened” and the damage to the restaurant was still being assessed. The owners were forced to close the eatery following the burglary.

‘Misguided desperation’

Jonathan Gittins, mitigating, stated that there was “no planning to go out and commit this offence” and it is the first time his client has been in trouble with the courts. The defence barrister described Playford as a “lonely and isolated individual”, adding that he suffers from mental health issues and “bullying”.

He added that Playford went to the protest to “see what was happening”, describing his actions as “opportunistic and impulsive”. The court heard that it was ‘misguided desperation to belong to a bad group’.

Mr Gittins added that Playford has lost his job and home due to his ‘stupid involvement in the shameful incident’. He added that his client’s actions were “out of character and baffling”.

His Honour Judge Francis Laird KC told Playford that he “encouraged” the unidentified male to enter the restaurant and steal the till. He also added that Playford stole money from the till and shared it with the male.

Judge Laird stated that Playford “craved to be one of the group” and took advantage of the disorder to “loot a restaurant”. Playford, of Shelley Road, Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, was jailed for eight months.

MSN