Teen who threatened vulnerable couple jailed following Winsford burglary

A teenager who threatened a vulnerable couple during a violent burglary at their home in Winsford has been jailed.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to four years and eight months in a young offender’s institute at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 29 June.

The 17-year-old, from the Accrington area, had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary.

He is the second person to be sentenced in connection with the incident.

His accomplice, Thomas Price, aged 20, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison at Chester Crown Court on Monday 21 February, after pleading guilty to the same offence.

During the sentencing the court heard how the pair broke into the home on St George’s Road on Wednesday 22 December 2021.  

The pair initially knocked on the front door of the address and asked the owners if they wanted their gutters cleaning. 

After being told no, they returned to the address a short time later and went down the side of the property before entering via a rear door. 

Once inside the two men went upstairs and located the elderly occupants in their bedroom where they threatened the victims with a claw hammer and demanded that they handed over all their money. 

The pair then went on to search the owner’s personal belongings as the helpless couple sat watching.

Just before leaving the address the pair spotted that one of the victims was wearing gold bangles, which they ripped off the woman’s wrists before fleeing the property. 

During a subsequent investigation, detectives from Northwich Proactive CID recovered a catalogue of evidence linking the pair to the incident.

This included CCTV footage of them arriving at the scene in a white Citroen Berlingo before carrying out the burglary.

Following the sentencing Police Constable Matthew Uren, who led the investigation, said: “The victims in this case were a vulnerable couple who were simply sat in their bedroom while these men subjected them to an absolutely terrifying ordeal.

“Not only were the threatened with a claw hammer, but they were forced to sit and watch, fearing for their lives as their bedroom was torn apart by this despicable pair.

“Thankfully, as a result of the information they provided, along with the evidence gathered by the team here at Northwich, the pair have now been held accountable for their actions. 
 
“While they will never be able to forget what happened on that day, I hope that the sentences handed to the pair will provide them with some closure and allow them to move forward with their lives.”