Rock-throwing burglar caught on camera and jailed

A burglar who threw bricks and rocks at a couple after breaking into their property has been jailed for two years and 11 months.

Police said a couple were woken by an intruder in their home on Wingfield Avenue, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, at about 08:00 BST on 23 March.

Ashley Whitehouse, who was wearing a balaclava, threatened the pair and threw a paving slab through their car windscreen after being chased out of the house, then threw stones and other items from a neighbour's garden.

He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to burglary, criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Whitehouse was captured on a doorbell camera

After Whitehouse left the scene, the couple discovered their kitchen had been ransacked and a purse containing a bank card had been stolen.

A mobile phone was also recovered from a plant pot by the front door and officers were able to identify it as Whitehouse's device.

Det Con Amy McMillan, from Nottinghamshire Police, said the victims went through "a frightening experience" with the 42-year-old, of Primrose Way in Worksop.

"Whitehouse reacted violently to being disturbed and continued his aggressive behaviour by hurling bricks at the victim as he fled and assaulting him," she said.

"When officers tracked him down a short time later he responded by headbutting an officer who was simply doing her job."