A LONG-TIME thief who sold stolen electronic railway equipment to a criminal fence has received a community order.

Adrian Paul Lewis, 48, pleaded guilty to theft on the basis he took boxes of Network Rail computers and head-sets he found abandoned near Scarborough Bridge.

The prosecution accepted he was not the original thief who had taken them out of Network Rail's York headquarters.

Kaj Scarsbrook, prosecuting, said Lewis sold the electronic items to newsagent Phillip Walters for £500.

As The Press reported last month, the same court heard how Walters made more than £6,000 by selling stolen Network Rail laptops and head-sets on eBay.

“He was the main man in this enterprise,” said Judge Simon Hickey, who sentenced both men in separate hearings.

Lewis, of Kingsway West, Acomb, who has nearly 100 previous convictions including 34 for theft and other dishonesty, was on a community order at the time of his latest crime.

He was given another community order, this time for 18 months with 25 days’ rehabilitation activities.

He turned up so drunk for an earlier hearing at York Crown Court, the case had to be adjourned.

His barrister Andrew Semple said: “He clearly is a man with some problems.”

But he had stopped taking drugs and had not broken the law for some months.

Walters, 31, of Danebury Drive, Acomb, was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months with conditions.

He admitted two charges of handling stolen goods, including items he had bought from Lewis. He had no previous convictions.