Yorkshire burglars caught by the DNA on their flat caps

TWO burglars were caught after police in Yorkshire linked them to a series of raids through DNA found on their flat caps.

Shane Richards and Carl Riddiough, both 30, were caught after witnesses spotted them following a police appeal. The thieves targeted elderly people in a series of distraction burglaries that involved telling the victim that they had kicked a football into their garden.

One of the men would then help look for the imaginary football while the other raided the houses of the victim for valuables in August 2016.

The suspects were said to be wearing flat caps and a witness spotted two men in caps behaving suspiciously in a vehicle, which was later located by North Yorkshire Police. Investigators were able to link the DNA of two men to two flat caps found inside.

Glass experts also analysed the caps and found samples of glass from one of the burglary scenes in both of them. Mobile phone data and fingerprints also provided evidence for the case.

At York Crown Court, Richards, from Doncaster, North Yorks, pleaded guilty to five distraction burglaries. He was jailed for four-and-a-half-years.

Riddiough, also from Doncaster, also pleaded guilty and was jailed for fourand-a-half years.