Man jailed after burgling homes of elderly people

On 24 January 2025 at around 7.30pm, Cheshire Police received reports of a burglary in Gainsborough Road, Crewe.

Officers attended the address, belonging to a 79-year-old man who was not at home, and identified a smashed window to the side of the property. A man – later identified as Duda - could be seen in the upstairs window by officers and loud crashes were occasionally heard from inside the building.

Officers forced entry into the property and conducted a full search of the address which had been ransacked by Duda. He was eventually found hiding under some duvets in the cupboard below the stairs in the hallway.

Duda was arrested on suspicion of burglary and he tried to claim he had keys to the address. It was believed he had damaged a key safe outside of the property to ascertain them. A number of keys, £30 in cash, low value jewellery, spoons and other decorative items were found in his pockets.

Despite then being on bail for the serious offence while officers conducted further enquiries, Duda targeted another address just weeks later.

The second victim was a 72-year-old man. On 21 February 2025, he returned to his address in Badger Avenue, Crewe, after visiting a family member in hospital, to find it had been burgled. Items stolen included between £250 and £300 in cash, a purse, an iPad and keys to a Hyundai vehicle which had also been taken.

The vehicle was located in an alleyway near to Stalbridge Road, Crewe, the following day. CCTV footage showed a man, identified as Duda (who was disqualified from driving) coming to and from the car. A fingerprint recovered from the address also provided a match to Duda.

He was subsequently circulated as wanted.

During this time, a third incident occurred at an address in Gresty Road, Crewe, at some time between 5 March and 7 March 2025, the victim being an 87-year-old man who was in hospital at the time. Damage was caused to the rear door of the property and a search was made of the inside of the address.

Duda was arrested on 10 April 2025 by West Yorkshire Police and a search was conducted of his address at the time. Among the items recovered were a large boat figurine and vintage coins, which had been stolen from the address in Gresty Road, linking Duda to this incident.

Duda was subsequently charged in relation to the three offences. He was previously fined for the possession of cannabis offence.

Detective Sergeant Kevin Williams said:

“Duda targeted the properties of elderly and vulnerable people, violating their homes – the place they should be able to feel safe and secure.

“Even after being arrested for one offence and bailed to allow for further enquiries to be carried out, he continued to offend and attempted to avoid being arrested by officers.

“However, thanks to teamwork from across Cheshire Police and with help from another force, Duda is now facing a lengthy spell behind bars.

“I hope the conclusion of this case will help reassure the victims and residents nearby of how seriously we take crimes of this nature.”