'Vile' conman targeted elderly women after he absconded from prison

AN “instutionalised” burglar went on a rampage in Birmingham after absconding from prison.

- CARL JACKSON Court Reporter

Bernard McDonagh, 60, has been invading people’s homes for the last 45 years, more than half of which he's spent in jail.

And he quickly returned to his “vile” old ways after failing to return to HMP Springhill in Buckinghamshire, a category D men’s open prison from where he was on day release.

Over five weeks he used his tried and tested method of posing as a plumber to carry out ten distraction burglaries, mainly targeting vulnerable elderly women as old as 94.

His heartless spree, which included stalking one woman from a post office back to her home, prompted West Midlands Police to issue a public appeal. That ultimately led to his capture after someone recognised him from a Facebook post.

At Birmingham Crown Court, McDonagh, of no fixed address, was sentenced to eight years and six months after admitting ten counts of burglary and one offence of being a prisoner on temporary release remaining unlawfully at large.

In a final insult to his victims, one of whom has since passed away, he cowardly refused to come out from the court cells to appear in the dock. “It’s noted the defendant is quite prepared to go into their homes but doesn’t have the courage to face up to their families in court,” said Judge Heidi Kubik KC.