Burglar who raided 20 homes before Christmas is jailed
A burglar who raided more than 20 homes inside a month in the run-up to Christmas has been jailed for four years.
James Naylor broke into homes in Lichfield and Tamworth and neighbouring areas, ransacking many of the properties.
The 27-year-old from Walsall got his unsuspecting girlfriend to drive him around residential areas to target properties, Stafford Crown Court heard.
He was caught after a bungled raid on a house, in London Road, Lichfield, where the family had gone away on holiday.
Neighbours heard the alarm go off during the afternoon of December 20 and saw two men get into a green Ford car, prosecutor Miss Joanne Barker said.
The householder's son had checked the property only 45 minutes earlier when he also noticed the suspicious green car.
The burglars had smashed their way in through a window but left empty-handed.
Police traced the registration number of the green car to Naylor's girlfriend. The defendant denied being involved and was bailed, but forensic tests later found fragments of glass on his trainers and on his glove.
Naylor had previously broken into a woman's house in Rutland Drive, Tamworth, on November 27 and ransacked it. Jewellery and £450 was stolen, along with photos of the owner's young son which have never been recovered, Miss Barker said.
Naylor, of Wenlock Gardens, Walsall, admitted two charges of burglary and asked for 20 others to be considered, all committed from mid November and December 20.
Judge Michael Challinor told him: "One only has to think of the misery inflicted on these homeowners looking forward to Christmas. This is planned and determined housebreaking, many houses were targeted in a fairly short period of time."
The court heard the defendant had a £1,000 a day crack cocaine and heroin habit and convictions for 64 previous offences.
Naylor told police he committed the burglaries to fund his drug habit. He would get his partner to drive him around residential areas and commit offences where he could, he told officers. She knew nothing about it.
Mr Duncan Craig, defending, said Naylor had a crack and heroin addiction, at one point spending £1,000 a day funding it.
