Bill Bailey bus thief jailed

The man who stole Bill Bailey’s tour bus has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Francis Whittaker was jailed after admitting burglary and two charges of vehicle theft at Liverpool Crown Court.

On 26 October last year, Whittaker took the Mercedes Sprinter Splitter, which contained crew suitcases and tour merchandise, from outside the city’s Philharmonic Hall hours before Bailey’s performance.

Whittaker, who has 42 previous convictions to his name, and another man broke into the production room and steal two laptops and car keys, but were caught on CCTV.

The van was discover found with false number plates three days later after being involved in a crash.

Bailey’s Limboland tour continued unchanged despite the theft.