Police refused to give stolen phone back to victim – in case it harmed thief’s privacy rights

Daniel Reid, 33, pleaded guilty to burglary at Caernarfon Crown Court (Picture: North Wales Daily Post)

Police had to be told by a judge to give a burglary victim his phone back after they refused to do so in case it infringed the privacy rights of the thief who started using it.

Melvyn Mainwaring had his mobile, bank cards and bus pass swiped during a break-in at his home in Abergele, north Wales, on May 18 last year.

He managed to cancel his cards but has been left having to still pay the £18-a-month on his phone contract while Mainwaring was using the handset before his arrest. The Samsung is still in the police’s hands.

Daniel Reid, 33, pleaded guilty to burglary at Caernarfon Crown Court.

While sentencing the thief, Judge Nicola Jones blasted the ‘nonsensical’ situation the victim has ended up in.

Mr Mainwaring said in a victim impact statement that the loss of his phone was a ‘massive inconvenience’ and described how it contains irreplaceable photos.

Judge Jones asked whether he was having difficulty getting it back ‘because of GDPR’, to which prosecutor Tom McLoughlin replied: ‘It would not surprise me.’

She then ordered it be returned, pointing out that Reid had given no consideration to Mr Mainwaring’s GDPR rights when he stole the phone.

‘It’s ridiculous it will not be (returned),’ the judge said. ‘It just seems nonsensical.

‘I do direct that North Wales Police return that telephone to Mr Mainwaring.’

Reid also admitted two other burglaries carried out last spring.

He was jailed for a total of three years and nine months.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.