Thief locked up for £8k robbery

A burglar has been put behind bars after stealing £8,000 worth of belongings from a house in North Tyneside.

John Critchlow was interrupted by a homeowner while ransacking an address in Whitley Bay before making-off with high-value electrical items, including a games console, laptop and camera.

The 21-year-old fled the scene but was soon traced by police after leaving his DNA in three splashes of blood in the property, a court heard.

Now, Critchlow, of Tunstall Terrace, in Darlington, has been given a mandatory 876-day John Critchlow prison sentence after he admitted the third dwelling burglary of his criminal career.

Emma Dowling, prosecuting at Newcastle Crown Court, said the victim had left his home on Beach Avenue, Whitley Bay, on the afternoon of February 10 and had returned at 7pm twodays-later.

“There were immediate signs ... of being burgled,” Ms Dowling added. “As he entered, he heard noises and someone fleeing from the back of the house.

“He didn’t see the person, so there was no confrontation. A number of items of value, particularly electrical items, had been taken. They included an Xbox, a laptop computer, a camera and camera batteries. The estimated value was £8,425.”

The victim also noticed that a hammer had been moved from the kitchen to an upstairs bedroom.

Police officers attended the scene and found that Critchlow had gained entry by smashing a window, leaving splashes of blood around the house.

Samples of the blood were tested for DNA and Critchlow was subsequently identified, Ms Dowling said.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said a collection of wildlife photos had been on the camera, which he would never get back.

He said: “I have recently been to the Canary Islands to photograph wildlife and I have now lost those photos.”

The court heard that Critchlow, who has 14 past convictions for 22 offences, had pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity and was “ashamed and embarrassed”.

He also claimed to have no memory of the burglary as he’d taken cocaine and drank alcohol. Locking him up, Judge Simon Batiste said: “You have ... two previous offences for dwelling house burglary.

“I have to give the mandatory sentence.”