Brazen Portsmouth burglar caught in the act is jailed

A brazen Portsmouth burglar who was caught in the act, leaving people in fear, has been jailed.

Andrew Smith, 40, of Walmer Road, was jailed for three years and four months for two burglaries and an attempted burglary in Waterlooville and Swanwick.

Smith’s spree started on Friday 12 June when a 73-year-old woman returned home to find a man she did not know standing in the hallway of a property on Catherington Lane in Waterlooville.

He claimed he was fixing the front door before quickly leaving on a bicycle. The woman discovered that he had stolen cash and more than £1,000 of jewellery. In an attempt to cover his tracks Smith had also used cleaning products from the property to try to eradicate forensic evidence.

Two days later a 30-year-old man heard Smith kicking the front door of a property that he was inside of on London Road in Waterlooville. He approached the door and spoke to Smith on the other side briefly before he left and rode away on a bicycle.

Then on Wednesday 17 June a 62-year-old woman returned home to a property on Swanwick Lane and discovered that someone had broken in and stolen cash and jewellery.

Thorough enquiries were undertaken by the Eastern Area Crime Team who secured CCTV and forensic evidence relating to the three incidents. Smith was subsequently arrested and charged with the two burglaries, which he later admitted at court. While in custody following this hearing he additionally admitted the attempted burglary after DNA evidence was presented to him.

During his sentencing hearing three other burglaries on Stakes Road in Waterlooville, Havant Road in Emsworth, and Swanwick Lane were also taken into consideration.

Investigating Officer DC Zoe Barker from the Eastern Area Crime Team said: “This is a significant sentence that sends a clear message that we deal robustly with burglary offences and those that choose to break into people’s properties. Burglary is a serious offence as it can be linked to, or fund, other forms of criminality. This result illustrates the use of all investigative lines of enquiry to ensure that a prolific offender can no longer target people living in our local communities.

“Our homes are spaces where we should feel the most safe and for someone to brazenly invade that space can leave a long-lasting scar. Burglary can have a profound impact on victims. I would urge anyone who has been a victim or who sees anything suspicious that could be linked to a burglary to report it to us”.