Notorious thief with 70 convictions is jailed

A notorious thief from Brighton, with 70 convictions over the years, has been jailed for burglary.

Simon Hornby posed as a security officer to gain access to the back office of a pub in York Place and observed the CCTV monitors for more than 25 minutes.

Several bank cards were later discovered stolen from a locker.

Hornby was identified by several witnesses and was arrested by officers on March 3, 2020, where it was discovered he was on bail in relation to several other theft-related charges.

The circumstances of the other charges were very similar to the York Place incident, in which he gained access to the back rooms of businesses and stole items from inside.

He had also been arrested, charged and convicted of dozens of other crimes, often involving thefts from businesses and residences.

Sergeant Barrett of the Brighton and Hove Neighbourhood Policing Team said: "Simon Hornby is infamous among the traders of Brighton and Hove as a notorious thief with a string of prior convictions over many years.

"This latest custodial sentence shows that we will continue to protect our business community from crime and bring perpetrators to justice."

The 51-year-old was sentenced to 32 months in prison for burglary with intent to steal (dwelling) and six months in prison for burglary in other than a dwelling, to run concurrently.

Hornby was also ordered to pay a £181 victim surcharge.