A MAN who acted as lookout for the burglary of a Prestwich fish and chip shop was identified by his discarded cigarette, a court heard.
Daniel Henson (21), from Clydebank in Scotland, was staying with family when he took part in the break-in at Armstrong's Supper Bar on Bury Old Road.
A witness noticed a male behaving suspiciously in the doorway of the shop, where Henson's mother worked, early one morning in November 2002.
Police officers found no-one at the premises, but noticed that a window had been forced and an office inside broken into.
A total of £860 in cash had been stolen, including takings, a £400 charity collection and two wage packets, Bury Magistrates on Tuesday.
The burglars had also taken a closed circuit video tape to cover their tracks, and a safe which they discarded when it proved too heavy to carry.
However, a cigarette left at the scene had been spotted, and was sent away for forensic analysis.
Results from a DNA test matched the profile of Henson, who was eventually arrested in May last year.
Henson told police that he had not been near the premises at the time, but had left the stub there earlier while picking up his mother.
He changed his story when a witness came forward to testify that the cigarette had been lit at the time of the burglary, and pleaded guilty in court.
Defending, Ms Lyndsey Brown asked the court to give Henson some credit for his eventual guilty plea.
She said: "The fact that he changed his plea, albeit on the eleventh hour, does make him worthy of some credit.
"He did not take the oath and did not lie in court."
However, magistrates felt this had come too late and sentenced Henson to three months in prison.
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