THE heartbroken victims of a burglary have criticised the criminal justice system after the window cleaner who stole from them avoided a jail sentence.

The Bounds family have spoken out about their anger at being denied compensation after jewellery worth £13,000 was stolen from their Appleshaw home.

Darren Norman Randall, pictured inset, admitted the burglary in which a rare Cartier Rivoli Paris watch was taken, when he appeared in Winchester Crown Court last month.

The 35-year-old also admitted to committing a second burglary at a home on Batchelors Barn Road and was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, a 20-day rehabilitation requirement and 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Speaking after the sentencing, Brian Bounds said: “The criminal justice system has let us down. It feels like justice is on the side of the criminal but my biggest grievance is that we haven’t received any compensation whatsoever.

“It is not so much the prison sentence. When I look at his sentence he has got 200 hours community service working for free. He should be working to pay back his victims.”

The family had been living in the property for four months in December when they employed Randall, of Duncans Close, Fyfield, as a window cleaner following a recommendation.

Mr Bounds continued: “He cleaned the outside and inside windows over the course of four days and at the end of that my wife realised that her jewellery and watch had been stolen.”

Besides the Cartier watch, a gold locket containing a lock of their son’s baby hair was stolen along with an art deco diamond and sapphire ring, a gold lattice bracelet and a wedding ring belonging to Mrs Bounds’ grandmother.

Following a police appeal, the Cartier watch was retrieved when a town-centre jeweller recognised it as having been sold to their shop and helped to identify Randall. None of the remaining items have been recovered.

“It was all my wife’s jewellery and she was heartbroken,” the father-of-three continued. “They were sentimental pieces that can never be replaced. He committed the crime while we were in the house. I’ve got three children and it could have gone horribly wrong.

“It has not made us nervous but it has made us less trusting of other people and made us think more about who we let into our house.”

After the sentencing the family were advised to apply to appeal the sentence to include compensation but were told that the crime is not one which the compensation scheme applies to.

Mr Bounds concluded: “All we want is my wife’s jewellery back or the money, but money will never replace the sentimental items.”