A Czech national who embarked upon a theft and burglary spree came to the UK as “a crime tourist”, a court heard.

Julian Vesely was described in Bradford Crown Court as “an accomplished professional thief” who racked up 10 offences in a matter of days – including targeting a wheelchair-bound man and stealing his wallet.

Mr Recorder Shamin Qureshi dismissed suggestions that he was a desperate man who had stolen to support himself.

He said: “He’s only been here a week, and he’s such a good thief. It doesn’t seem real that he can come to the country struggling for money or work and then learns how to steal. He’s just simply so gifted.”

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: VeselyVesely (Image: Police)

The court heard that Vesely, 29, of Claremont Terrace, Great Horton, Bradford, arrived in the UK from the Czech Republic on January 28.

Between February 5 and March 12 he stole mobile phones, bags, and bank cards from several people at locations such as Centenary Square and The Broadway shopping centre including from a man in a wheelchair who was left “very distressed”.

Several incidents took place on the same day, March 12.

He also burgled two town centre hotels, taking £500 in cash from the Midland and £280 from the Victoria.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The Midland Hotel was among the locations for the crimesThe Midland Hotel was among the locations for the crimes (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

Vesely, who appeared by video link from HMP Leeds and spoke via a Slovak interpreter, pleaded guilty to ten offences of theft, fraud, and burglary.

Mitigating, Tom Jackson said Vesely came to the UK to follow his pregnant partner, and that he was “an economic migrant who was struggling to find work and money and had turned to crime”.

He said his thefts were as a result of “desperation and last resort” and that he expressed regret for everything he had done.

Recorder Qureshi told Vesely: “The prosecution described you as being a ‘crime tourist’. Your barrister said that you’re not. The label of ‘crime tourist’ is an emotive term so I put it aside in considering my sentence.

“But what is clear is that you were only given to leave to enter this country for six months, with no right to work.”

He said Vesely had “no regard whatsoever” for the feelings of his victims, including targeting a man in a wheelchair.

He added: “You clearly steal for a living to get easy money rather than doing any work.

“What is very clear is that you take the opportunity to steal from people who are not guarding their property, or you distract them in order to steal.

“You said to the probation officer that you stole because you are not allowed to work and get money in this country, yet you are a 29-year-old male who has never worked in his life. You told the probation officer you’d never worked in the Czech Republic.

“The probation service is not here to act as an employment bureau to find jobs for people who are not allowed to work.

“I would be failing in my public duty to protect the good citizens of Bradford if I did not send you to prison.”

He sentenced Vesely to a total of 23 months in jail and said the term could trigger the deportation procedure “but that is a matter for the Home Office and not for this court”.

The police and the local authority have also requested a Criminal Behaviour Order against Vesely to keep him out of the city centre. That will be decided next month.