Grandad charged £700 for the return of his stolen rifle

A NORMANBY grandad was charged £700 for the return of his stolen gun - and his granddaughter and her pal have been locked up for their part in the crime.

- By ESTHER HALLIGAN

Crook Carlos Rainbow charged the pensioner hundreds of pounds for the return of the .22 rifle, which was previously stolen from his house. Rainbow was caught with the weapon and some ammunition by police, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Rainbow, 29, claimed he was given the items - which were burgled from the pensioner’s Middlesbrough home.

The court heard that thieves targeted a cabinet where the pensioner kept his fishing gear and gun at his property in Normanby on January 28, last year.

Michael Cahill, prosecuting, said that Rainbow knew the pensioner through co-accused Ashleigh Robinson, his granddaughter. When Rainbow became aware that the victim wanted his rifle back, Rainbow charged him £700 for it - which Mr Cahill said the OAP paid “within 24 hours”.

Rainbow appeared in court alongside Ashleigh Robinson, 31.

Robinson was under a court order not to go near her grandad’s home, after the pensioner successfully applied for a non-molestation order. The court heard that drug addict Robinson had been “pestering” her family for cash.