A court heard that two Moldovan nationals inflicted damage exceeding £20,000 on two recently built housing sites by removing heating equipment.

Ion Holban and Tudor Mereacre, neither of whom has a fixed address, faced sentencing at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, April 24.

Holban, who is 25 years old, and Mereacre, who is 22 years old, pleaded guilty to nine counts of non-residential burglary committed on two different dates in March this year.

The court heard they took five boilers from the Wellington Gate site on March 16 and four from the Brookside Meadows site on March 19. Both developments are situated in Grove near Wantage.

Tom Blackburn, the prosecutor, said police learned of their activities on March 19 when CCTV recordings showed the two loading boilers into a car at the new-build development.

Officers tracked down the men with three boilers in their car, which were verified as having been taken from the site.

The court was informed they smashed windows to access the properties and discarded one boiler when it would not fit in their vehicle.

The estimated cost of damage and losses at Brookside Meadows reached £15,600.

After their capture, police found they had also been stealing boilers from Wellington Gate, located on the former Grove Airfield site, just days before.

Evidence showed the two had been using the same vehicle during the earlier crimes. The estimated damage at Wellington Gate was just under £7,500.

When questioned by police, Holban took responsibility for all the crimes. He said the locations were found through Google Maps and that he knew he had no right to be there.

Mereacre refused to make any statement during his police interview.

Mr Blackburn told the court that both men are Moldovan nationals with no previous convictions in the UK or abroad. He noted there was a significant degree of planning involved and described it as the deliberate theft of new boilers.

The court heard in Mereacre’s defence that he has no housing in the UK. It was also said the crimes were committed out of pure financial desperation.

Kelly Purcell-Chandler, counsel for Holban in mitigation, explained that Holban arrived in the UK approximately a year ago on a boat and wishes to return to Moldova. She stated that he deeply regrets his actions.

Judge Michael Roques explained that because their guilty pleas were entered after March 22, new sentencing guidelines require that sentences of 12 months or less must be suspended.

The judge noted that their departure from the country would save taxpayers from having to house them in prison.

Judge Roques sentenced each man to 10 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with no conditions attached.