Man jailed following burglaries in Wilmslow

A man has been jailed after stealing thousands of pounds worth of items during two burglaries in Wilmslow.

Lee Jones appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday 8 September after previously pleading guilty to two counts of burglary and three counts of fraud by false representation.

He was sentenced to more than four years and 11 months (1,808 days).

The 46-year-old, of Waterside, in Marple, targeted a property in Lacey Green, Wilmslow, just before 4pm on Tuesday 25 April, where he stole hundreds of pounds worth of items.

A resident of the property had received an alert from his Ring CCTV camera showing a man – later identified as Jones - carrying a brick in his rear garden.

Jones went off camera and a loud smash was heard. Around two minutes later, he left the property with a jewellery box through the rear patio door.

CCTV captured him wearing a mask, woolly hat, dark jacket, dark trousers, and trainers.

Jones was spotted on CCTV wearing the same clothing, other than a different woolly hat, the following day, when he targeted an address in the Wilmslow Park area of Wilmslow.

At 4.15pm on Wednesday 26 April, residents had returned home to the address to find a door had been smashed.

Numerous items had been stolen worth thousands of pounds.

Jones attempted to use a bank card stolen from the address on the same day in Stockport. These transactions were not successful.

A second bank card was used fraudulently on Friday 12 May, totalling hundreds of pounds.

On Wednesday 7 June, a warrant was conducted in partnership with Greater Manchester Police at an address in Stockport, where Jones was arrested as part of enquiries into the burglaries. Items of clothing matching the description of those seen in CCTV footage of the burglaries were found and seized.

Following the sentencing, PC Ben Dickinson of Eastern CID said:

“While there is a financial impact of burglary, there is also an emotional impact to consider. Everyone deserves the right to feel safe in their own homes.

“Thankfully, we were able to locate and arrest Jones and he is now being held accountable for his actions.

“I hope that his conviction provides reassurance to residents in the Wilmslow area and serves as a reminder that we will do everything we can to stop people who try to commit crimes in Cheshire.”