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Ortons: Heavily pregnant mum tackled house burglar
A WOMAN from Orton Longueville who chased after a burglar despite being seven months pregnant has spoken of her ordeal of finding the intruder in her kitchen.
A WOMAN from Orton Longueville who chased after a burglar despite being seven months pregnant has spoken of her ordeal of finding the intruder in her kitchen.Without a thought for her own safety - or that of her unborn child - Jenny Knott (31), of The Village, Orton Longueville, Peterborough, sprinted after John Carty after discovering him eating pizza in her kitchen while trying to stuff electrical items into his bag.
Today Jenny, who gave birth to baby Sophia on Thursday, spoke of her anger that her home had been broken into.
The drama began when she returned home from picking up her partner David Oliver (29) from Peterborough Station at 8.40pm on September 22 last year.
As the mother-of-two went into the kitchen to cook the family evening meal, she found Carty taking a laptop and a video camera.
The arrogant thief was even eating pizza until he was disturbed and tried to escape.
But he was followed by have-a-go-hero Jenny, who along with being seven months pregnant, was also on a heart monitor to keep an eye on a problem with one of her valves.
She said: "I would definitely do it again. I just couldn't believe what had happened. I was so angry that someone was in our house stealing our things.
"I didn't think about what I was doing. I just acted on instinct.
"He ran out the back of the house and I ran to the front and caught him outside our home.
"I just grabbed hold of him, but he struggled to get away.
"I could see under the street light that he had a scar on his face and I started to think that I might have made the wrong decision.
"I tried to hold on but couldn't.
"I tried to chase him but couldn't keep up. David started to run after him too."
Her partner caught up with Carty, who threatened him before escaping again.
The police were called and arrested Carty, who Jenny was able to identify at an identity parade the next day.
She added: "When I was asked about the incident for the court case, I became quite upset about it.
"I had never thought about being at home alone before, but this has made me nervous.
"We moved from Fulham to Peterborough just a month before this happened as we wanted our children to grow up somewhere safe and near to our family.
"We never expected anything like this to happen."
David said while he was full of admiration for Jenny's actions he wished she had not followed the burglar.
He said: "I am very proud of her.
"I wish she had not gone after him because she was looking after our baby but it is something you do without thinking.
"She was just protecting our house."
Carty was eventually caught in the hostel where he was living.
He had claimed not to have left the hostel that evening, but CCTV evidence showed he had.
Carty (44), of The Crescent, Orton Longueville, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to burglary at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday (19 January), where his case was adjourned until Friday for sentencing. Judge Sean Enright told Carty to expect a jail term..
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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