A “PROLIFIC” criminal who stole tend of thousands of pounds worth of equipment and money throughout Dwyfor and Meirionnydd has been jailed for over three years.

Simon Lee McAllister, 44, from Pentraeth on Anglesey, has been found responsible for several thefts across the Gwynedd area, including the theft of £4,000 worth of camera equipment from Zipworld in Blaenau Ffestiniog and stealing over £4,000 in cash from the Llechwedd Slate Caverns.

He is also found guilty of the theft of a Land Rover Discovery worth £40,000 from Zipworld Titan in Bethesda on 8 September 2015, and stealing a Ford Fiesta worth £7,500 from OH Griffiths and Co garage at Y Ffôr, along with a tool box and car stereos from vehicles on 9 September 2016.

On Monday 16 April 2018, McAllister appeared before Caernarfon Crown Court and was sentenced for high value burglaries and theft of motor vehicles carried out in the region during 2015 and 2016.

He was imprisoned for 40 months.

PC Carwyn ap Tomos of Gwynedd CID said: “It is reassuring and welcoming the Criminal Justice System shares our concern and imposes custodial sentences on those few intent on disrupting and disregarding the lives of others.

“Following these matters being reported officers undertook a comprehensive investigation, arrested McAllister and faced with overwhelming evidence he was charged and now subsequently sentenced.

“McAllister is a prolific offender and I hope his imprisonment provides our communities with reassurance that all offenders will be pursued, caught and placed before the courts. The community is a better place now he’s behind bars.”