A 27-year-old man has been remanded in custody by a judge after a jury found him guilty of conspiring with others to steal Yorkshire stone from homes.

Judge John Cockroft told James Buchanan, of Ferncliffe Road, Bingley, that he had been convicted of a conspiracy to steal a valuable commodity from premises which were often vulnerable. He warned Buchanan that he faced a custodial sentence. The jury at Bradford Crown Court returned their verdict and Buchanan will have to remain in custody until pre-sentence reports have been prepared on him and two other men.

The jury heard a rise in thefts prompted police to mount a surveillance operation on a stone yard in Bradford and a suspect car claimed to have belonged to Buchanan.