A HARD-up father who took part in a raid on a stable block to buy his daughter clothes has been jailed for nine months.

Leonard Butler, who had no previous convictions, drove one of the getaway cars after being promised £100-£150, Worcester Crown Court heard.

But a witness saw the blue Rover parked in the gateway of Keybridge Farm, in Doverdale Lane, Hampton Lovett, near Droitwich.

Police stopped the car and caught Butler and another man as they tried to escape on foot, said Adam Western, prosecuting.

Butler, aged 27, of Smithy Lane, Kingswinford, West Midlands, admitted burglary, driving uninsured and without a licence.

Judge Michael Mott said it was a neatly executed burglary and Butler's role as a getaway driver was not a minor one.

He noted that Butler's accomplice, who had a police record, had been given 12 months' custody at an earlier hearing.

Mr Western said padlocks on the farm's tack room were cut off and equipment worth £10,000 stolen during the night of March 26, last year.

Found in the Rover's footwell were some stolen goods, bolt cutters, a bat and gloves. Property worth £6,500 was still missing.

Butler told police he had been out "lamping" for rabbits and had been innocently given a lift in the Rover.

Defence counsel Samantha Powis said he was a hard-working husband who had been offered easy money. "He very stupidly took it at a time when his finances were severely stretched. He intended to spend it on clothes for his daughter," she added.

Miss Powis said it was an out-of-character crime and Butler was unlikely to reoffend in the future.

Jailing him would leave his wife - who was in tears in the court's public gallery - on benefits, as he was the sole breadwinner.