A man who burgled a house, stealing £20,000 worth of keys, clothes, cash and jewellery, before making-off in the resident’s Range Rover has been jailed.

Craig Kirkham was jailed at Burnley Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to burglary and theft.

The court heard how on February 17 Kirkham had broken into a house on Sutton Crescent in Huncoat at around 5.30pm.

Prosecuting, Stephen Parker said: “The victims in this case, the Peel family, had been out and returned home just before 8pm.

“They went into the house and noticed muddy footprints going up the stairs and found that a number of drawers in the kitchen and all the drawers and wardrobes in the upstairs bedrooms had been opened and rummaged through.

Lancashire Telegraph:

“The back door window had been smashed and the utility room window left open.

“Items had been taken including an LG TV worth £2,000, a sound bar worth £600, some Hugo Boss shirts, some cash and some jewellery.

“Mr Peel’s Range Rover, worth £17,000 had also been stolen.”

The court was told how at around 8.30pm, police spotted the vehicle being driven onto the motorway and it was then spotted on the M60 in Greater Manchester, where it was followed by officers before a sting was carried out.

The defendant then ran off towards a garden but was apprehended by officers.

He was wearing a balaclava, and his response when taken to the ground by officers was, “I’ve just been told to drive it”.

All the stolen property was recovered in the back of the vehicle.

Kirkham, of Whiteley Street, Clayton, Manchester, has 27 convictions for 48 offences, many of which were in the youth court.

He was given a suspended sentence in 2020 for a commercial burglary which he was in breach of when he committed these incidents.

In mitigation, Peter Malone said all his client’s offending stemmed from his drug use.

He told the court: “Unfortunately drugs took hold of him from the age of 15 and that developed through his youth.

"This addiction caused him to continue offending and continue going to prison, being released and then returning to custody again.”

Kirkham was handed a 34 month prison sentence, and in sentencing the 30-year-old, who appeared via videolink from HMP Preston, Judge Sara Dodd said: “Yet again you are up in the crown court for burgling someone’s home.

“This is aggravated by your previous conviction for burglary and dishonesty and you were subject to a suspended sentence when you committed these crimes.

“You travelled from Greater Manchester looking for a vehicle to steal, and I acknowledge that you are sorry and are disappointed in yourself.”