A SECOND man has been jailed for a burglary at Newtown College when a caretaker was attacked.

Billy Lau, 21, of Rowley Regis, in the West Midlands, received a 16 month prison sentence which a judge ruled would not be suspended and which would have to be served immediately.

Judge Niclas Parry, sitting at Mold Crown Court on Thursday, June 6, told him that in the early hours, one day in August 2017, the defendant and another had travelled for some hours from outside of Wales to carry out the burglary.

"You would have known that the other man, the father of your fiancee, was nothing less than a career burglar," the judge told him.

Lau claimed that he did not know what was going to happen and that he was an un-willing participant.

But he had come disguised with a mask, the two of them removed tools from the college carpentry department to the value of £2,000 when they were confronted by two decent, working men, the caretakers.

They were not professional security men but made every effort to reason with the burglars.

The two intruders were brandishing weapons and when the other man became involved in a fight the defendant Lau, acting under direction, struck one of the caretakers on the head with a weapon.

It caused a nasty injury to the head, the court was told.

At an earlier hearing co-defendant Stuart Jones, 41, of Crown Walk, Tipton, Sandwell, who had previous convictions for 349 offences, was jailed for four years after he denied burglary and assault but was convicted.

Both intruders had attacked James McBride, a man who was simply doing his job.

Judge Parry said that the victim had described Jones as the leader.

Richard Edwards, prosecuting, said during the early hours of the morning of August 20, 2017, a burglary occurred at Newtown College.

The caretakers James McBride and Carl Mullinder attended to the activation of the alarm.

They found two men in the carpentry department, hoods up, trying to conceal their identities.

One man jumped towards James McBride, while brandishing a hammer, then shouted "hit him Billy."

The second man, Lau, then struck Mr McBride over the head with what Mr McBride thought was a screwdriver. They both then ran from the scene.

Mr Edwards said that Lau was arrested after his mask was found on a fence and police got a DNA hit from it.

Lau who had learning difficulties was said to have acted under the influence of Jones.

But since the burglary in 2017 he had changed his life-style.

He had a partner, they were expecting their first child, he had joined a church and he was leading a crime free life.

It was clear he had played a subordinate role.

He was a man with limited previous convictions who had shown genuine remorse.