Burglars got in through dog flap, court is told

Simon Brookes, aged 21, clambered into the property in Pemberton Road, Coseley, through a hole measuring less than 1ft wide along with 20-year-old Joshua Owen while a mother and her two young children slept upstairs.

They took a laptop, camera and mobile phone containing photos of the children, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told, and then drove away in the car using keys found in the house.

Brookes, of Tame Street, Bilston, had been released from prison for a previous offence just days earlier when the house was broken into at about 3am on June 2.

Mr Mark Phillips, prosecuting, said: "Entry was gained by crawling through a dog flap. Once inside they stole a camera, purse and mobile phone.

"Police were alerted by a neighbour who said they had seen two men acting suspiciously outside in the vehicle. They were covering their faces to try to hide their identities."

Officers soon arrived and the pair were arrested, Mr Phillips said. They had hidden some of the stolen goods including the mobile phone in a nearby garden shed.

When they were arrested, Brookes gave no comment in an interview, Mr Phillips said.

Brookes, who has a young daughter, has previous convictions, including aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage and making off without payment.

Judge Phillip Parker said: "These items that were stolen don't just contain personal details but in this case the phone also contained photos of the householder's children. It is a horrid thought that such an item gets into the hands of who has stolen it. That is the kinds of psychological damage you cause in offences like this."

Mr Harpreet Sandhu, defending, said his client had spent a 'considerable' amount of time in custody but added: "He is still young and has a great deal to work towards if he takes the view that there needs to be a change in his lifestyle."

He said he reoffended so soon after his release from prison because he and his partner had a 'spate of financial difficulties' and 'when faced with that situation he resorted to behaving as he had done before'.

Judge Parker told Brookes, who admitted burglary, that he needs to make a decision about which way his life will go before jailing him for 21 months. Owen, of Old Fallings Crescent, Low Hill, who also admitted burglary had his case adjourned for a report by the probation service before sentencing.