Burglar caught in homeowner's trap jailed

Homeless drug addict Paul Howell has a long record of criminal offending

A prolific burglar who was caught in a homeowner's trap has been jailed for three years and seven months.

Paul Howell, 56, triggered a bucket of water to fall when he walked through a piece of a wire while trying to break into a house in Blyth in November, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The victim said he had been fed up with being repeatedly targeted by burglars and Howell, who had more than 100 offences on his criminal record, deserved "nothing but contempt".

Howell admitted attempted burglary and stealing hundreds of pounds worth of items from another home.

A resident who had been the victim of multiple burglaries discovered a bucket of water on his patio had been knocked over on 9 November, prosecutor Saba Shan said.

She said the man had set the bucket as a "trap" triggered by a fishing wire to try and catch those targeting his home.

He reviewed his CCTV and saw Howell, who was wearing a face covering and using a torch, try and open a door and window, before fleeing after setting the trap off at about 02:15 GMT, the court heard.

Before he left completely, Howell urinated on the man's drive, the court heard.

Police identified Howell, who had 49 convictions for 108 offences, but before they could arrest him, he burgled another home as a woman and her family slept inside.

He stole mobile phones, laptops, chainsaws, bikes and jewellery, including a ring belonging to the woman's late mother, making multiple trips to and from the house in the early hours of 15 November, the court heard.

After coming downstairs to find her home in disarray, the woman traced one of the missing phones to an address on Disraeli Street which was known to be used by Howell, the court heard.

Blood left on a window sill was also a match for the burglar, Ms Shan said.

'Nothing but contempt'

In statements read to the court, the victims said they had been devastated by the burglaries.

The man from the first home said he felt "nothing but contempt" for those like Howell who "victimise and exploit the hard-working and honest".

The woman from the second home said she had been especially upset that her mother's ring had never been recovered and the damage he caused to her home and sheds would cost more than £3,500 to repair.

She said she and her family now lived in fear and Howell had "no respect" for other people.

In mitigation, Howell, a long-term drug addict of no fixed abode, apologised for his actions but Judge Amanda Rippon said that would mean nothing to his victims and he had "destroyed lives".

She said: "People can't just hope their home is safe when they lock their front door because people like you go in and violate their space and steal their property, property they have worked hard for and paid for."