Smirking burglar 'too busy' to face court over £150,000 raid - he was jailed anyway

A smirking burglar claimed he was 'too busy' in prison to attend court - but a judge jailed him anyway.

Daniel Matley, of Tameside smashed his way into an industrial unit to grab £150,000 worth of phones, watches and tablet computers, a court heard.

The convicted drug dealer and arsonist was caught red-handed after police followed a van driving the wrong way down a road after the raid on iOutlet at Estover in Devon, PlymouthLive reports.

Matley, 26, was remanded in custody at Forrest Bank and due for sentence at Plymouth Crown Court but refused to appear over a videolink from prison.

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His barrister told the judge that he had tried to speak to Matley over the link before the hearing at HMP Forest Bank near his native Manchester.

Nick Lewin said: "He is busy, we have tried. He was allowed out to exercise and when then the officer went out to collect him he said he was busy."

Judge William Mousley ruled that Matley had deliberately absented himself.

He added: "He is obviously a busy man. It may make him less busy if we deal with this."

The court heard that Matley had been recalled until June to serve the remainder of his last sentence, when he was jailed for arson and dealing cannabis in Manchester.

Judge Mousley handed him another 14-month prison sentence, to start immediately, for the burglary.

Matley, of Highfield Close, Tameside, pleaded guilty to burglary on January 30. He was pictured smirking in his police mugshot.

Katie Churcher, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said iOutlet was a two-storey unit with a workshop and offices which repurposed phones, tablets and watches.

She added that its contents were insured