A burglar fled a courtroom moments after being told he was going to prison.
Stephen Andrew Hempenstall has been on the run from police for two weeks after he ran out of Macclesfield magistrates’ court.
Moments before his brazen escape the 34-year-old had been sentenced to 16 weeks in prison for burglary.
Hempenstall, of Nelson Street, Macclesfield, had admitted entering David of Duke Street hair salon between June 14 an 15 and stealing electrical hair styling products worth more than £250.
He had originally denied the offence at a hearing on June 26 but changed his plea on the day of the trial on August 13.
Magistrates sentenced Hempenstall to prison because of his ‘horrendous record of acquisitive offending’ and ‘failure to comply with community orders’.
He was also ordered to pay compensation of £500 and costs of £260.
Magistrates issued a warrant without bail for ‘absconding from court having surrendered into the custody of the court’.
Most trials at Macclesfield magistrates court are heard in courtroom two, which does not have a secure dock. Hempenstall would have had to make his way past two security guards through the main exit.
