by Keith Hunt

A postman who claimed he stole parcels because he was scared of open spaces and wanted to get home has been despatched to jail today.

Glen Hoadley pinched watches, watchstraps, computer games, DVDs and other items over a year between March 2008 and March last year.

John Luckhurst, defending, said Hoadley, who admitted theft, was suffering from depression caused by bereavements in his family.

“This is not someone who was stealing to have extravagant holidays,” he told Maidstone Crown Court.

“He was not stealing to keep up with the Joneses next door.

“It was because of his increasing agoraphobia and his need to get back home."

Judge Charles Macdonald QC jailed the former Blue Circle cement worker for 18 weeks.