A MAN who committed a burglary at the flat of an elderly lady in sheltered accommodation has escaped a jail sentence.

A judge decided not to send David Trevor Owen to jail and instead ordered him to work unpaid for the community.

Heartless Owen, 39, stole from victim Joyce Elizabeth Drury, a retired lady living in sheltered accommodation at Elm Court in Rossett.

He denied burglary at an earlier hearing but was convicted.

On Monday, he returned to Mold Crown Court to be sentenced - and it was revealed that Owen, now living in Castle Forgate in Shrewsbury - had previously served six and ten year sentences for other offences including threats to kill and indecent assault.

In fact, the burglary conviction meant that he was potentially liable to be recalled back to prison for two years and one month because he was still on prison licence at the time.

But the judge, Mr Recorder Dafydd Hughes, said that the defendant had no previous burglary convictions and could come under the recent Court of Appeal guidelines where first time burglars did not necessarily need to go to prison.

Sentencing Owen to 200 hours community punishment - with £185 compensation - the judge said there were certain serious features about the case.

The flat was obviously accommodation for the elderly and the main serious aspect of the burglary was that elderly people had clearly been targeted but there had been none of the usual features of damage or ransacking.

The judge went on: 'Nevertheless, the trauma for any individual, but particularly the elderly, is considerable. It invades their privacy. I have considered very, carefully indeed. This is a case where I would be perfectly justified in sentencing you to a term of imprisonment.

'But one thing is clear in reading the reports and the testimonials, which is that with the exception of this offence you have made considerable efforts to put your life in order.

'It does seem to me that to send you back to prison now would do you no good and ultimately would not do the public any good either.

'That is not to suggest that the court does not view with extreme seriousness people targeting vulnerable and elderly people. That is the most serious aspect.'

Defending barrister Des Parry said that Owen had expressed remorse despite the fact he still maintained his innocence.

Following long prison sentences, he had gone to great lengths to get his life back on track and had moved to another area where he had progressed well, as could be seen by the testimonials, including one written by a vicar.

Owen knew that his behaviour could attract a prison sentence because it was such a nasty offence. He asked for a lenient sentence for the burglary and urged the court not to impose all the outstanding sentence on licence.

The earlier trial heard how one afternoon in March Mrs Drury left her flat to hang some clothes on the line and as she returned, she saw a man come from the direction of her flat.

She then discovered that her cash and credit cards had been stolen.

An earlier hearing was told that the warden of the flat had come across a man in the flats earlier that day and he asked her if there were any empty flats available.

The next day, Mrs Drury was in the DSS office in Grosvenor Road, Wrexham with her daughter when she saw the same man there.

When staff called out the name David Owen, he had left the building.

The prosecution said that it was the same man, who was later picked out by warden Carol Dodd at a group identity procedure which was adopted at the Asda store.

Owen claimed that he had never been to Rossett in his life and said that when he had been picked out at the DSS office, and by the warden it was a case of mistaken identity.