Crowbar burglars who ransacked homes jailed

Daniel Simms (44) and Andrew Beaumont (29) used a crowbar to force their way into a house in Cambridge Road, Great Shelford, on the afternoon of April 23.

They stole a bike, iPad, MacBook Pro, iPhone 6, Sony camera, jewellery and £200 cash.

Two days later Beaumont used the crowbar again to prise open a rear window and get into a house in Cambridge Road, Milton. He stole bank cards, two laptops, an iPad, iPhone, games consoles, a coin collection and aftershave.

The pair were arrested at a house in Molewood Close on April 26 after police identified them from CCTV images of the burglary in Great Shelford.

Following their arrest, officers searched the house and recovered an iPad, bank cards, the coin collection and aftershave which had been stolen during the second burglary, as well as items of clothing the men were seen wearing during the first burglary.

Yesterday (Thursday) at Peterborough Crown Court Beaumont, of St. Catharine’s Square, Cambridge, was jailed for 40 months after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary, with the court taking an additional 31 offences, including 29 burglaries, into consideration.

Simms, of York Street, Cambridge, was jailed for 32 months after pleading guilty to burglary. He was also handed a further three months’ imprisonment, to run consecutively, for breaching a suspended sentence order.

DC Victoria Norden said: “Simms and Beaumont targeted homes in affluent areas and stole whatever they could carry.

“The sheer amount of evidence we had against the pair meant they had no option but to confess to their crimes.

“This case highlights the importance of home security and I would encourage everybody to look into the steps they can take to keep their house secure.”

For online burglary prevention advice visit: www.cambs.police.uk/A-Z/Burglary.

Anyone with information about burglary should call police on 101 or visit www.cambs.police.uk/report. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.