A BURGLAR has been jailed for breaking into a pensioner’s north Cumbria home after learning hours earlier that the householder would be out for the evening.
James Moray Broughton, 28, contacted the 71-year-old retired man on September 13 last year to ask if he needed any odd jobs carried out having previously done work for him.
Broughton was told during the phone call that the occupant would be away that night. And when the homeowner returned to his remote property near Crosby-on-Eden just after 10pm he found a hole had been smashed in glass door by an intruder who had entered and ransacked rooms before stealing uninsured belongings which included a passport, television, power tools, a courtesy car and even some sausages.
Broughton initially denied being responsible but was brought to book after a lengthy police investigation unearthed damning DNA analysis and cell site data.
Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting at Carlisle Crown Court, said of the impact on the victim: “He has had a difficult year and that has affected his mental wellbeing.”
Broughton, previously of Dunmallet Rigg, Carlisle, admitted burglary and theft charges.
Jailing Broughton for 18 months, Judge Nicholas Barker said of the crime: “There can be no doubt that you planned and targeted this attack on his property.”
