Burglar jailed after breaking into The Granary near Peterborough's Ferry Meadows and leaving with bottles of booze

A burglar who was caught red handed with four bottles of booze after breaking into a Peterborough restaurant has been jailed.

Stephen Whittington, 41, broke into the Granary, in Ham Lane, in the early hours of 19 October, armed with a knife, screwdriver and a hammer.

At about 3.30am police received a call from a member of the public reporting they had seen a man with a bag crawling behind the bar.

When he attempted to leave he was greeted by two police officers with Tasers. He dropped a bag containing the hammer, screwdriver and four bottles of spirits, before admitting he had a knife in his pocket.

It was later discovered Whittington had failed to tell police about his new address following release from prison, which represented a breach of his notification requirements under the Sex Offenders Register.

Whittington, of Whittlesey Road, Stanground, Peterborough, admitted burglary, possession of a knife in a public place and failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register.

On Thursday (26 January) at Peterborough Crown Court he was jailed for 18 months.

Sergeant Craig Foster said: “I’d like to thank the member of the public who reported this burglary. Their actions enabled officers to catch Whittington red handed as he tried to leave the premises.

“Tackling burglary in the county is one of our priorities and we will continue to do all we can to bring offenders to justice.”