A drunk burglar who left his blood at the scene of the crime has been handed a suspended sentence.

Adam Joseph Craig Gallagher admitted burgling a property in Patrick Street in Peel.

He also stole car keys from the property and then took a car without consent.

Gallagher, now aged 18, admitted offences of burglary theft and taking a vehicle without consent.

Magistrates sentenced him to 12 months in custody, suspended for two years, and also made him the subject of a two-year suspended sentence supervision order.

He was also banned from driving for 12 months.

We previously reported that, at 2.07am on December 7, 2019, police saw a driver struggling to park in Patrick Street in Peel.

The driver then drove away but then later collided with a parked car.

When police arrived they found the car with the keys in the ignition but no driver.

A witness said that the owner of the car was off-island.

The owner had left the car keys with a neighbour as tree cutting was planned for the area so the car may have needed moving.

The neighbour said they had returned home on December 9 last year and found a two-litre empty bottle of what looked to have been an orange liquid and a jacket that didn’t belong to her.

She said that two small panes of glass were broken with blood left on the window.

The car keys had been in a desk drawer but were now missing.

Blood was also found on the bottle which, after forensic testing, led police to Gallagher, who lives in Tynwald Close, Peel.

He attended a voluntary interview on March 14 and initially denied all knowledge of the offences.

He claimed he did not know where Patrick Street was and had never been in the house concerned.

When quizzed about his DNA being present he answered ’no comment’.

The court heard that sentencing had been delayed due to Covid restrictions.

Defence advocate Matthew Wilshaw said that his client was only 17 at the time of the offences and the matter had taken a long time to come to court.

Mr Wilshaw referred to a probation report which said that alcohol was at the root of Gallagher’s offending.

’He was hanging around the streets of Peel drinking whatever alcohol he could get his hands on but he has grown up,’ said the advocate.

’He says he has turned his back on that lifestyle and prefers to stay at home.’

Mr Wilshaw went on to say that the property that was burgled was unoccupied and his client had thought it was derelict.

’He was exceedingly drunk on the night in question,’ said the advocate.

’He assures me that breaking in and stealing the car keys was not pre-planned. He told probation he could not recall what happened due to his alcohol consumption.’

Magistrates said that they had taken into account Gallagher’s age, his early guilty pleas and the length of time since the offence when deciding to suspend the sentence.

They also ordered the teenager to pay £50 prosecution costs and gave him until February 28 to pay.