A PROLIFIC thief christened Pocket Money Boy after probation officers paid his family £60 in a bid to stop him stealing has appeared before the courts for his 102nd offence.

Burglar Casey Bowen raided a house on Rodbourne Road on July 2, making off with cash and thousands of pounds-worth of jewellery.

The owner of the home, who watched the case from the public gallery at Swindon Crown Court, was said in a victim impact statement that clothes were strewn across the floor by the 39-year-old thief in his daytime raid.

Bowen, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to burglary.

But the Gloucestershire man, whose lengthy burglary record began two decades ago, was yesterday given a glimmer of hope when Judge Peter Crabtree ordered probation officers to see if there was any chance the thief could be helped to address his drug addictions.

Adjourning the case to September 2, Judge Crabtree told Bowen: “The very firm starting point here is custody and a lengthy period at that, not necessarily limited to the three years either, given the grounds of the offences and your record.”

He said the report would look at whether there was a prospect Bowen could be rehabilitated.

But, in a warning for the burglar’s defence lawyer, the judge added: “Even if he is, I’m far from convinced I’m going to do anything other than a lengthy custodial sentence.”

Earlier, Lloyd Jenkins had asked for his client to be given a chance to sort out his drugs problem.

Bowen had been promised help with his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder following his last conviction for burglary in 2018. Given a three-year sentence by a Gloucester judge, Bowen was released from prison in April without support or medication.

After falling out with associates in Cheltenham, he fled to Swindon where he had been put under pressure by others to offend. “I think there’s an element of exploitation with others,” said Mr Jenkins.

The lawyer added: “I think custody doesn’t work and one day we’re going to have to break the cycle if we can. He is desperate for some kind of drugs rehabilitation.”

Notorious Bowen was given the nickname Pocket Money Boy by the tabloids in mid-1990s when it was revealed his family was being paid £60 a week in a last ditch bid to stop him from committing crime.

After a string of offences and escapes from children’s homes, social services paid his family the pocket money to buy items like computer games and trainers that he had been stealing.

Sentencing Bowen last summer for a series of burglaries across Gloucestershire, Judge Ian Lawrie QC described the thief as a deeply flawed and troubled individual.

Told by Bowen’s brief that prison did not work, Judge Lawrie responded: “It gives everyone respite from his antics.”