10/07/02Mayor gets prison for stealing lingerie

by **Dark Blue** » Feb 8th, '10, 02:29

PRESTON, England, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The mayor of a small coastal town in northern England has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing women's underwear.

Ian Stafford, 59, mayor of Preesall and Knott End in Lancashire, pleaded guilty to four counts of breaking and entering, the Daily Mail reported.

"I feel deeply ashamed at the whole scenario because I have hurt people who have been excellent friends -- I could not wish for better," Stafford said. "I wish I had said something to someone earlier. I am not proud of any of this, I am sickened. I wish I could turn the clock back."

Stafford, a bachelor, worked as a handyman in Knott End-on-Sea, a small town on Morecambe Bay. He had keys to many of the houses in town.

Investigators say he was caught on videotape stripped to the waste, taking underwear out of drawers and using it for sexual acts. Police said they found more than $1,000 worth of lingerie in his home, some of it stored in bags labeled with the names of the original owners.