Burglar chased down road by pal

A BURGLAR was chased down the street by a friend after stealing from her.

Dean Patrick Hitchen was found with a knife in Atherton, Wigan, on August 17 last year after burgling the house on Coronation Avenue. He told police he was using the weapon to peel potatoes.

Bolton Crown Court heard how he entered the property and stole a purse containing £195.

The victim, who was in the house with her young children at the time, said she had saved the money for Christmas presents.

Hitchen, of Milton Close, Atherton, was spotted leaving the family home by a child who lived at the address.

The victim realised her purse was missing when her son asked her if she still had it. The court heard how they ran after Hitchen, who was found further down the street.

He had dropped £60 on the floor but had £135 in his pockets.

The victim slapped Hitchen, who has 44 previous convictions from 134 offences, for taking her purse in front of her four-year-old child.

Joshua Bowker, prosecuting, said: “He denied taking the purse.

“They looked into the bushes and went to his address and saw the back window was smashed.

“Inside she could see her ID, loyalty cards and called the police.

“On the way back, she saw the defendant and pleaded with him to return the purse. It was found nearby.”

The court heard how when police arrived, Hitchen appeared intoxicated. They took him back to his home address where he reached into his pocket. Out fell several bank cards belonging to the victim and her sister. He was searched by police where they discovered a four-inch knife in his pocket.

After being arrested for possession of a bladed article, he told officers he had been using it to peel potatoes.

Paul Treble, defence barrister, said: “The complainant feels the defendant has betrayed her trust he has. He knows that.”

Before passing sentence, judge Graeme Smith said: “As you have heard, this burglary was an opportunity and was not planned, but it was a breach of trust.

“They have been badly affected by this.”

Dean Patrick Hitchen was sentenced to 16 months in jail, suspended for two years.

He was also made subject to a one-month electronic curfew and ordered to take part in a drug rehabilitation programme.

A WOMAN has been charged after allegedly ‘spitting’ and ‘racially abusing’ police officers.

Police were called to reports of a ‘disturbance’ at a home in Halliwell Road in Bolton on Saturday.

Officers arrested Carla Couperthwaite, 24, of Halliwell Road, to ‘prevent a breach of the peace’, according to Greater Manchester Police’s Bolton neighbourhood team.

But as she was being arrested, the woman ‘began spitting at officers’, says the force.

After the incident, police say the woman was then ‘racially abusive’ towards another police officer exercising their duty.

She has now been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence and the assault of an emergency worker.

She was remanded in custody and is due to appear Wigan and Leigh Magistrates Court today.