The intruder – who has been jailed for four years following a Nottinghamshire Police investigation – had entered a house in Broxtowe when he was confronted by a resident who told him to ‘get out of my house. 

Minutes later he went into a second property on the same street, when a mum heard the front door open, whilst her daughter spotted out the window that their car had been taken from the driveway in Eltham Drive on 4 March 2020.

Within half an hour the stolen car was involved in a road traffic collision in Midland Way. 

It was reported the burglar had tried to overtake on the wrong side of the road and collided with the side of a car.

The stolen car was stopped by officers on the A60 in Nottingham and the man  was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving. A hammer was seized, along with a pair of pliers inside the car. 

Les Shilton, of Withern Road in Aspley, was charged with burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving whilst disqualified and failing to supply a sample.

The 43-year-old was sentenced to four years at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday (4 January 2021).

He was also banned from driving for four-and-a-half years.

Detective Constable Natalia Montano led the investigation. She said: “We’d like to praise the victim who was inside the house and quickly discovered that her car had been taken. It must have been a scary experience, but she stayed calm when reporting the crime.

We are pleased with the court result and that Shilton will be behind bars for four years.

“After the burglary, he drove dangerously and we are very fortunate that no one suffered any injuries that day.

“I’d like to thank and praise a team of officers who worked tirelessly, supporting the victims and ensuring a good result in court. 

We were able to use local CCTV footage to spot that Shilton entered the two houses and that his clothing matched when he was detained moments later from the initial report. 

“Burglary is an incredibly upsetting and impactful crime which can have not only a long-lasting effect for the victim, but the whole wider community too.

“Crimes of this nature can make residents feel frightened or anxious in their own home, the place which is meant to be their safe haven.

That’s why the force remains committed to tackling and reducing burglary – and has burglary teams in the city and county who are dediucated to investigating this type of offence – and we will continue to do all we can to pursue offenders and bring them to justice.