A WELLINGTON man described as ‘incredibly thoughtful and respectful’, who works hard and raises money for local charities has been handed a community order after being found guilty of handling stolen goods.

Police found Joshua Enright, 24, of Lodge Copse, with a metal tool chest worth £99 shortly after it was stolen overnight from a parked van carrying gardening tools which was broken into on April 28, Taunton Crown Court was told.

Patrick Mason, defending, said Enright, a self-employed gardener and landscaper, had autism and was vulnerable in many respects. Referring to previous offences, he said he had been involved in burglaries carried out by professional criminals with whom he had ‘inadvertently come into contact’, but had a ‘low level of involvement’.

Married with one child and another due in January, he was highly resourceful and a useful member of society, he added.

Recorder Peter Towler said magistrates had found him guilty of handling stolen goods and Enright had said he bought the chest for £35 and was intending to use it for his landscaping business. It put him in breach of a suspended sentence imposed in March 2015.

He was fined £50 for the breach and was given a community order for 18 months with a rehabilitation activity requirement. He was also ordered to pay £600 costs.