A SAFE-CRACKER who broke into churches throughout the East Riding has been jailed for four years.
Christopher Coulthard went on a cycling crime spree just a day after being released from prison.
Coulthard, 50, used a drill to open the safes in churches, stealing their collection tins.
After being arrested, Coulthard complained that church collections were not as lucrative as in previous years.
He targeted 39 churches in the region, including places of worship in Beverley, Bridlington and Driffield during a three-month rampage throughout Yorkshire and the Thames Valley.
Police believe he stole from more than 560 churches across the country.
Armed with Ordnance Survey maps, he highlighted churches across the East Riding before he was spotted and brought to justice by a police officer passing through a Holderness village.
CCTV images captured Coulthard entering village churches in Harpham, near Driffield, and a police officer driving to Ulrome, near Hornsea, on February 24 recognised Couthard as the church crook cycled through the village on his bike.
When arrested, Coulthard asked the officer: "Is this about the churches?"
Now, Coulthard has been jailed for four years after admitting five burglaries and asking for a further 34 offences to be taken into consideration.
Coulthard started targeting churches in 2002 and was jailed for six years in 2010 for burglary.
The East Yorkshire raids mean he has now targeted more than 560 churches.
Recorder Julian Smith said Coulthard had not stolen valuable items such as religious statues.
Instead, he had deliberately broken into the churches for donations given by visitors or those looking after the buildings.
He told Coulthard: "You told the probation officers the money does not belong to anyone.
"It is there, donated, and not going to cause any direct loss to anyone. You also commented on the poor return for your efforts because churches bank their money now.
"You attacked safes in buildings, there was evidence of drilling, you were equipped with maps pointing out the locations of churches you could attack.
"This is organised, planned and carefully considered offending, often causing damage."
He said the value of the cash Coulthard had stolen was "considerably less" than the damage he had caused to historic buildings.
"Churches are valuable sources to the local community and the public at large," the Recorder said.
"It matters not if individuals are religious, churches have their own value and heritage and you imperilled that with your actions.
"There is a level of persistent determination and organised planning which makes your offending very serious."
Police say Coulthard targeted other churches including St Mary's in Beverley, St Mary's and All Saints churches in Driffield and St James Compostella in Lissett.
His barrister Richard Thompson said: "There is something inherently unpleasant about the burglary of a church.
"This could have been more serious. There was no ransacking, no vandalism and no confrontation with any churchgoers."
Coulthard, of no fixed address, told the Probation Service the money he took did not belong to anyone.
Chief Inspector Alan Farrow, the lead for Neighbourhood Policing in the East Riding said: "This was an excellent piece of police work on behalf of all involved.
"We were made aware of the offender coming into our area and immediately employed observations which our staff responded to quickly.
"This case demonstrates how the different arms of policing worked together to promptly identify, locate and apprehend the offender. It reinforces our commitment to all our communities, both urban and rural, to prevent them from becoming victims of crime.
"This is clearly a positive result with an appropriate custodial sentence being given out which we fully support."
