A man who travelled from Durham to break into a West Cumbrian business took screenshots while he was there.
Robert Holliday, 36, was one of two men who broke into a premises on Pittwood Road, Lillyhall, near Workington, and stole a number of keys on September 9 last year.
One of the keys taken was for a Mitsubishi truck which they filled with power tools, plant and machinery.
They then went to another nearby site, belonging to the same company, attached a trailer to the Mitsubishi and returned to the first site and loaded two diggers onto the trailer.
At Carlisle Crown Court on Tuesday, Holliday was jailed for two years four months for theft of a motor vehicle, theft and burglary other than dwelling.
A police investigation identified that a blue Skoda vehicle was involved in the theft and officers tracked the Mitsubishi travelling east on the A66 towards County Durham.
Holliday was identified and data from his mobile phone showed his movements corresponded with those of the Skoda, he was in the Lillyhall area at the time of the offence and was travelling east at the same time as the stolen Mitsubishi.
Holliday was arrested and a search carried out at his property. Police found cash, a key for the stolen Mitsubishi truck with its registration number and the Skoda vehicle with false plates.
Data on Holliday’s phone also showed screenshots of his location in the Lillyhall industrial estate sent to a contact and he also carried out a number of calls in the lead up to and after the theft and burglary.
PC Lewis Quinn, of Cumberland CID, said: “Investigations found that Holliday had travelled into Cumbria intent on committing theft.
“We hope this acts as a warning to those intent on travelling to Cumbria to commit crime that we will investigate and work with our neighbouring force to put them before the courts to face prosecution.
