'Arrogant' burglar's escape goes up in smoke

Paul Harewood was sentenced to more than two years for burglary and fraud

A burglar has been caught after DNA testing linked him to stolen tobacco he had stopped to smoke before fleeing the scene.

Forensic investigators connected the cigarette butt outside a student residence to the thief who had also stolen bank cards and aftershave from inside.

Paul Harewood, 50, from Guildford, Surrey, pleaded guilty to burglary and fraud at Guildford Crown Court.

Sgt Sarah Wentworth, from Surrey Police, said: "His own arrogance in lighting a cigarette at the scene sealed his fate".

Harewood burgled the student residence whilst the victims were asleep on 5 June.

He used one of the stolen cards at a McDonalds shortly after and tried to use one at at a clothing store the following day but it was declined.

He was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday to two years four months and 23 days imprisonment for burglary, with an additional four months for fraud to run concurrently.

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