Burglary pair given lengthy jail terms
TWO burglars who carried out planned raids in which homes were ransacked have been given lengthy jail sentences.
Alan Ward, 19, of St Giles Avenue, Sleaford, admitted three charges of burglary committed between December 13 and 15 last year and asked for a further four offences of burglary to be taken into consideration. He was sent to a young offenders’ institution for four years.
Shane Welsby, 23, who was living at an address in Jubilee Grove, Sleaford, but is now of Avenue Road, Rugby, admitted charges of burglary at The Hurn, Digby, and handling property stolen in the Leasingham raid. He also admitted dangerous driving and driving while disqualified committed in Rugby. He was jailed for a total of five years and nine months and banned from driving for four years.
Ward and Welsby broke into a property at The Hurn, Digby after forcing a patio door.
Andrew Scott, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that the occupier arrived home to discover her house had been ransacked.
Mr Scott said: “In the kitchen all the cupboard drawers were open and property strewn over the floor. The main bedroom had been completely ransacked.
“In the spare bedroom Christmas presents had been ripped open but had not been taken.”
A mobile, phone, a lap top, digital camera, bank cards and jewellery were among the items stolen. Ward and Welsby were later seen in a car being driven in South Kyme.
Police followed the pair, who abandoned the vehicle in Great Hale Fen. The burglars tried to flee across a field but were arrested after a short chase.
A number of items of jewellery stolen in the Digby burglary were recovered from the car along with property taken in a second raid at Moor Lane, Leasingham.
Ward admitted his part in a third raid on a house in Main Street, Rowston.
Jonathan Straw, for Ward, said he had never been in trouble before and he claimed his client had only turned to crime after coming under the influence of Welsby, adding: “They came into contact with each other because he had started a relationship with Welsby’s sister.”
Neil Sands, for Welsby, said: “He is a young man who has belatedly begun to realise the nature and seriousness of his actions.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sleaford
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
