A burglar pickpocketed one of the officers arresting him while he was sat in the back of a police car.

Anthony Connor, 32, leaned forward and lifted the wallet from the PC as he was being driven to the police station.

He was only caught after he dropped the wallet, containing £10 and a Subway receipt, and began fumbling around for it.

When asked what he was doing, Connor replied: ‘I am sorry – I didn’t know it was your wallet.’

It happened on February 15 after the career criminal, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, was detained for trying to steal a Range Rover from the owner’s driveway.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Evans told Bolton Crown Court: ‘The car’s owner Dennis O’Connor was at home asleep and was woken up by the sound of his Range Rover starting up outside.

‘He looked outside and saw a man in the car before running out and trying to strike him with a hockey stick.

‘The car was still moving but Mr O’Connor managed to stop it and kept hold of the defendant in the vehicle until police arrived.

‘Police immediately recognised him and placed him in the back of their patrol car.

‘Later officers observed him as he was messing about with items and a brown wallet was seen underneath his legs.’

Connor was jailed for 20 months after he admitted theft, taking a car without consent plus burglary at the home of his own nephew in which a Rolex watch and a gold chain worth more than £13,500 was stolen.

The court heard he had also taken his nephew’s wallets containing his driving licence and insurance plus European medical card, bank cards, £450 cash and 350 euros in holiday money. He also stole jars of coffee and protein bars from a Co-Op store.

Connor claimed he had became addicted to drugs aged 19, beginning with cannabis before he turned to ecstasy, cocaine and heroin.

He had previously been locked up for burgling the home of his own mother who has since disowned him.

Defence barrister Martin Pizzey said: ‘He has wanted to be drug-free for a considerable amount of time and his mother says when he isn’t taking drugs he is a completely different person, gets along well with people and does constructive things with his time.

‘He knows he will go to prison and wants his sentence to be long enough for him to leave prison drug-free and he is determined to remain that way on release.’

Sentencing Connor Judge Timothy Stead said: ‘Your story makes very unhappy listening particularly for your victims. Addiction to any drug, whether drink or illegal substances, always brings misery and it has done so in your case. I hope you are successful in ridding yourself of your problems but I have to deal with you for what you have done.”

At the time of the theft, Wigan police posted a message on Facebook saying: ‘Officers responded to reports of a male detained by the occupant of a property having attempted to steal his motor vehicle from the driveway.

‘The suspect was arrested but his crime spree was not over however as after being placed into the rear of the police car he thought it a good idea to steal an officer’s wallet and remove the contents therein having reached into the front. Not clever and further arrested for theft.’

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