A serial burglar with a staggering 26 previous convictions for 67 offences has been spared jail after a judge agreed to give him “one last chance”.
Perry Calvert, 37, was given a 15-month jail sentence which was suspended for two years after appearing in court for raiding a night club.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Calvert forced a fire door into the Pulse Night Club, in Lincoln, and then smashed internal CCTV cameras on March 28.
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Around £700 worth of damage was caused to the building.
The court was told about his long list of previous convictions for similar offences.
But Judge Stuart Rafferty told him: “With some misgivings I am prepared to give you one last chance.
“This is an exceptional course for me to take with someone with a record like yours.
“I am absolutely certain you will never be given another chance like this again.”
Sarah Lloyd, prosecuting, said that a cleaner arrived just before 6.30am and contacted police after discovering the fire door was open.
She said: “They found the defendant hiding behind the bar. He was arrested and found to be in possession of an amount of amphetamine.”
Joanna Staples, defending, said Calvert’s life had been “blighted by drugs and mental health problems” for a number of years.
She said that in the period leading up to the burglary he had been sectioned to a psychiatric unit and urged he be given help to assist him with his problems.
Calvert from St Catherines, Lincoln, admitted committing burglary on March 28 and possession of seven grams of amphetamine.
