Drug addict thieves burgled flat while children slept

The pair spotted a bathroom window had been left open at a ground floor flat in Limehurst Avenue, Finchfield, near where they were living at the time.

Philip Bate and Sarah Baker, aged 33 and 31 respectively, climbed into the property and escaped with £500 worth of goods that have not been recovered, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The woman was seen leaving the address by a neighbour who recognised her as a local resident, leading to her arrest the day after the July 27 burglary, said Mr Matthew Barnes, prosecuting.

Bate left a fingerprint at the address and, as a result, was detained on August 18, two days after stealing £70 worth of goods from a Sainsbury's store. The couple were both drug addicts, the court was told.

The mother of two who lives at the burgled flat is now worried for her safety and that of her children, disclosed Mr Barnes.

Mr Gurdeep Garcha, defending Bate - who had 42 previous convictions involving 111 offences, 53 of which involved theft - conceded:

"This kind of intrusion causes real unhappiness and upset but he is finally coming to terms with the fact he cannot continue on this path because the prison sentences will just get longer.

"Now, for the first time in many years, he is entirely free of drugs. This is an achievement he is rightly proud of and gives him an opportunity to concentrate on a life without drugs and crime."

Mr Richard McConaghy for Baker, who had 30 previous convictions for 56 offences, including 32 thefts, commented: "This burglary represents a noticeable escalation of her offending but she was not the driving force. She was in a relationship with a man who has committed burglaries in the past."

Bate, now of Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton pleaded guilty to burglary and theft and was jailed for three years three months. Baker, currently living in Lower Villiers Street, Parkfields, admitted burglary and was locked up for two years three months.

Recorder Mark Rhind(corr) told them: "You are both adults whose lives have been blighted by class A drugs and have awful criminal records.

"This was committed at an address where a couple lived with their two small children who were all asleep at the property when the burglary happened. The feeling of the woman of not being safe in her own home is one that will last a long time and is why such offences are taken so seriously."