A burglar who has previously called himself the ‘Robin Hood of Oxford’ smashed his way through a wall and emerged in a cupboard - before snaffling a £12k Rolex.

Taffyn Betnay, 32, had tricked his way into the block of flats on Armstrong Road, Littlemore, on December 30 last year by pretending to deliver a parcel.

Sparing the door, Betnay got into the flat by smashing through a wall. He ended up in a cupboard.

He stole an expensive Rolex watch and bank cards, which he tried to use in shops. He was recognised by a shopkeeper.

Appearing before Oxford Crown Court on Friday (February 17) via video link from Bullingdon prison, Betnay, of Benouville Close, Oxford, pleaded guilty to burglary and three charges of fraud by false representation.

Defending, Olive Lycourgou said her client had a longstanding issue with drug addiction. “He really needs to break that cycle,” the barrister said.

Judge Ian Pringle KC agreed to adjourn sentence for the preparation of pre-sentence reports. He told Ms Lycourgou: “I’m persuaded if there is a serious drug problem here [it is] better to get behind that and see what can be done.

“The fact that I’m adjourning for reports shouldn’t be taken by your client as any indication of the kind of sentence he will receive.”

He was remanded in custody to return to the crown court on March 13 for sentence.

Betnay has a history of committing thefts. In 2014, he was jailed for four years for armed robbery on the Woodstock Road Post Office.

Working with an accomplice who stopped anyone from entering or leaving, he gripped an innocent university worker by the neck until staff handed over £17,000. “She was petrified,” prosecutor Cathy Olliver said of the victim.

Last year, Betnay was cleared of burgling a bungalow in Slade Park in 2019.

Prosecutors claimed he was the balaclava-clad man who challenged the elderly homeowner, demanding to know: “Where is the f***ing safe?”

The woman replied to say she did not know where the safe, said to have belonged to her grandson in whose room the interaction took place, was kept. The burglar allegedly answered: “If you don’t tell me I’ll kill that f***ing dog.” He was then said to have kicked the pooch.

Betnay was unanimously acquitted.

The offence to which he pleaded guilty on Friday, dwelling house burglary, carries a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment.

However, jail terms vary significantly depending on the seriousness of the crime, the value of the goods stolen, and whether the house breaker has similar convictions on their record.