A MAN who had previously denied being involved in an Eden farm burglary has changed his plea to guilty and been told by a judge: “You have done the right thing.”
Mark Richard Wilkinson, 48, had been due to stand trial in front of a jury at Carlisle Crown Court in April, 2021.
This followed his plea of not guilty earlier this year to a charge alleging the burglary of Southview Farm, Ellonby, near Penrith.
But when Wilkinson appeared at the crown court this morning (MON), he admitted the burglary, which occurred on 3rd January this year, and the theft of a quad bike, drill and drill batteries.
He will now be sentenced by a judge on a date to be fixed, and was granted conditional bail with an electronically monitored night-time curfew imposed in the meantime.
Wilkinson, of Main Street, Allonby, was told by Recorder Ciaran Rankin: “You, very sensibly, have pleaded guilty in this case. It is a very strong case. You have done the right thing.”
