A burglar caught on camera by her victim wearing a jacket she’d stolen during the night-time break-in has been spared immediate prison.
Faye Wardle, 31, entered the Calder Drive address in Workington through an unlocked door as the householder slept on March 17, 2021.
The occupant woke to find ransacking across the ground floor with cupboards and a freezer opened.
There was food all over the floor — some having been partially eaten.
Carlisle Crown Court heard an empty yoghurt pot was also discovered. This was examined and provided a DNA match to Wardle, who was then spotted by her victim wearing a stolen Puffer-style jacket several days later.
The householder took a photograph of the culprit which she sent to a friend, who immediately recognised Wardle.
She initially denied wrongdoing but when the damning DNA evidence was presented to her, she said if she had committed the crime, she couldn’t remember doing so.
Wardle confessed an addiction to heroin and a substance known as plant food, and later admitted burglary.
Almost two dozen previous offences included a previous break-in.
But after hearing Wardle had been out of trouble for several years, Judge Nicholas Barker suspended a 15-month jail term for two years, concluding she had the capacity to address her offending behaviour.
Wardle, of Senhouse Street, Workington, must also complete a rehabilitation requirement and a three-month night time curfew.
But noting the hallmarks of her latest burglary, Judge Barker said: “These are gross invasions of a person’s privacy. They are not simply of immediate impact but have a lasting impact. It is like a stain that does not go away.”
