A CAREER thief who was ordered to sell his house to pay for his crimes has been granted a reprieve by magistrates — because of the recession.

Dean McEvilly had been told he faced jail unless he paid back £50,000, which he had been ordered to raise through the sale of his house.

But the 38-year-old avoided 18 months in prison because he had not been able to sell his Burnden home because of the poor state of the property market.

Now, the court has agreed to give him until January to sell the house and has also agreed to accept less money in a bid to secure a sale as quickly as possible.

McEvilly stole goods worth £180,000, including car stereos and satellite navigation systems, over a six-year period to fund his drug habit.

Yesterday at Bolton Magistrates Court, Malcolm Bristow, chairman of the bench, described it as a “doomsday situation”, with McEvilly’s debt increasing and the house’s value dropping. Anthony Shimmin, defending, told the court that McEvilly he had been trying to sell his Southfield Street house through a local estate agent, but had not had any interest. He has now instructed a second estate agent.

Mr Shimmin said McEvilly had been offered £40,000 in cash from two buyers, but refused it as it was not enough to pay off the debt.

He added: “This is not idleness on his part, he has been trying to sell it.”

McEvilly was ordered to sell his home, which was left to him when his father died, after a proceeds of crime hearing last October at Bolton Crown Court.

The debt now stands at more than £52,000, as it has been gathering £11 interest a day.

Mr Bristow said: “The offer for the property needs to be snapped up.

“He might not feel inclined to do so, but that is the best option.

“We are prepared to adjourn this to January 11, by which time we expect you to return with £38,000, to be discharged against this debt, for the property in Southfield Street.

“If you do not, there is a real chance of the prison sentence being activated.

“The debt is getting higher, and the property value is getting lower. It is a doomsday situation.”

If the default sentence is imposed for failing to pay, McEvilly would still owe the money to the court after he is released from prison.

After the court hearing, the father-of-two said: “The house means a lot to me because it was my dad’s, but I know it has got to be sold. “A few years ago it was worth £95,000, but now the value just keeps going down.

“I had offers, but could not sell it for less than £50,000.”

He added: “I would go to prison for five or 10 years if it meant I could keep the house.

“I feel like I have already paid my debt to society. I have spent time in prison for my crimes and got longer sentences because I was unable to pay compensation.

“I am going to sell the house to one of the cash buyers and, if that falls through, I have organised for an estate agent to auction it on December 9.

“If I am sent to prison for not selling it, I will still have to pay it when I come out—so I just have to get this sorted.”