A prolific thief who told police “you’re lucky I’m not grooming girls” after a £19,000 burglary spree in the Square Mile has been jailed for three years and four months – with a judge warning he may die in prison if he does not give up drugs.
Neville Stanbury, 58, from Hither Green in Lewisham, south-east London, admitted seven burglaries, one attempted burglary and breaching a criminal behaviour order at Southwark Crown Court. The offences were committed between December 2025 and April 2026 while he was under a ten-year ban from entering the City of London, imposed in 2022.
When arrested, Stanbury confessed and told officers they were “lucky he had not done worse”. He admitted he had “probably done it” when asked about break-ins he could not remember, saying he commits burglary to feed his heroin addiction and claiming: “You’re lucky I’m not grooming girls.”
Police linked the crimes through CCTV footage that showed Stanbury wearing the same distinctive green cap during each break-in. Prosecutor Matthew Jolliffe told the court Stanbury tailgated his way into buildings to bypass security or smashed through doors to steal laptops, phones and other electronics.
On 28 December 2025 he raided recruitment agency GH Engage, gym Roar Fitness and insurance firm Zego at an office block on Eastcheap, stealing laptops and phones worth more than £6,000. On 23 January 2026 he smashed through the front doors of barristers’ chambers at 3 Hare Court in Inner Temple, remaining inside for seven minutes. The court heard he was known to those premises after being banned for entering with intent to steal.
On 18 March he broke into the offices of IT firm Wavenet on Minories and was caught on CCTV leaving with a rucksack filled with electronic items. He later raided the offices of finance company VFX and insurers City and Commercial in Duke’s Place, taking laptops worth thousands of pounds. And on 4 April he was recorded on CCTV stealing electronic goods worth more than £6,000 from Hubflow in Lombard Street.
After his arrest four days later, Stanbury replied “so what?” when confronted over his breach of the criminal behaviour order. He also insisted he was “not some druggy” but took heroin to “calm himself down”.
Judge’s stark warning: ‘You have a choice’
Sentencing Stanbury, Judge Christopher Hehir delivered a blunt assessment of the defendant’s prospects and warned that continued drug use and criminality could cost him his life.
“Ultimately the only person who can truly help you is you,” the judge told him. “No-one puts a gun to your head and forces you to take heroin or other drugs, and no-one puts a gun to your head and forces you to go out burgling.
“You have a choice – go on wasting more of your life in prison and possibly dying in prison, or take a step back, look in the mirror, and resolve to change your ways.”
The judge said Stanbury had been “confrontational” with those trying to help him, and that past efforts to avoid prison in favour of rehabilitation “simply have not worked”. He added: “Your tendency is to blame others for your misfortunes, rather than asking yourself whether you might be to blame.”
Stanbury’s criminal record stretches back more than 30 years, with 50 previous convictions covering 140 offences – the “vast majority” for non-dwelling burglaries.
In 2016 he was jailed for four and a half years after using the same tailgating method to steal £32,000 worth of items during a five-month burglary campaign in London’s legal district. In 2021 he pleaded guilty to five counts of burglary and was sentenced to community supervision, drug rehabilitation and unpaid work. The following year he was handed a criminal behaviour order banning him from the City of London until the end of 2031, after a £40,000 spree of criminal damage and theft.
The City of London Police, which secured the ban, said the force remains committed to investigating such crimes thoroughly and targeting prolific offenders. The City of London is one of the safest areas in the UK, with crime rates significantly lower than the London average. “Other theft” is the most common offence, and overall crime fell nearly seven per cent year-on-year to December 2025.
Detective Constable James Crellin of the City of London Police highlighted the “Safer City Streets” initiative, which combines visible policing, intelligence-led patrols, technology and partnerships to keep the Square Mile safe.
