The Secret Garden florist shop on Adelphi Street in Preston A shop owner used a smartphone tracking app to hunt down a burglar who raided her business, a court heard. Benjamin Ivor Vincent David smashed his way into The Secret Garden on Adelphi Street in Preston and stole cash from the till, luxury candles, an iPad and laptop, charity boxes, tools and a make-up bag. Victim Joan Marsden discovered the burglary when she went to open the shop with her daughter on November 21 last year. The back door to the premises had been removed and was lying ‘cracked and damaged’ on the floor. Prosecutor Richard Archer said: "It’s fair to say it was in a particularly poor state of repair." Preston Crown Court heard that Mrs Marsden ‘led her own enquiries’ and downloaded a tracking app from the Apple store and used it to trace her stolen iPad to a nearby property. Mr Archer said this led to a ‘confrontation with an unrelated male’ who has since been charged with affray in relation to the incident. The man was due to appear before magistrates last month but failed to attend and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The court heard that a number of stolen items, including candles and the make-up bag, were found at the address however the iPad was not recovered. A forensic examination of the florist shop revealed a fingerprint from David on the side of the till. When he was arrested and questioned by police the 39-year-old said he had been into the shop to order funeral flowers for a family member. However Mr Archer said there was ‘no reason for his fingerprints to be on the till’. David, of Brindle Road, Bamber Bridge , pleaded guilty to burglary. The court heard that […]