Northumbria Police have revealed that burglars from Northumberland and North Tyneside have been sentenced to a combined 16 years in prison during the first four months of 2021.

Burglars caught include a thief who fell asleep at the crime scene, an intruder who left behind his beer can, and a crook caught urinating in the street.

Detective Chief Inspector Sean McGuigan, burglary lead at Northumbria Police, praised the work of specialist teams tasked with putting thieves behind bars.

He said: “The pandemic has been a challenging time for all of our communities but we have remained committed to put those who seek to do harm before the courts.

“We have faced our own challenges but our dedicated teams of burglary hunters have carried out some phenomenal investigative work throughout lockdown.

“We know that 2021 will continue to pose its own challenges but I am delighted that we have already arrested hundreds of thieves in the last four months.

“Dozens more have been placed behind bars and some of the most prolific burglars and thieves in our region have been taken off the streets.

“There has been some truly phenomenal investigative work in recent months which has taken some of our most prolific burglars and thieves off our streets.

“Your home should be your safe haven, and we will do everything we can to secure convictions and offer you as much reassurance as possible.”

There are dedicated burglary teams across Northumbria’s patch which are tasked with assessing all break-ins throughout the region. They look to establish behavioural patterns, monitor known offenders in the hope of ensuring those responsible are brought to justice.

Det Chief Insp McGuigan continued: “We need the public to be vigilant and take a few extra steps to help reduce the risk of them becoming a victim of crime.

“Please lock your doors and windows, keep your cars locked, and make sure any valuables are kept out of sight.

“By working together, we can reduce burglary offences while ensuring anybody who looks to bring misery to others is dealt with swiftly and robustly.”

Northumbria Police have urged members of the public to report anything suspicious in their neighbourhoods via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page on its website or by calling 101. In an emergency, where there is an immediate risk to person or property, always ring 999.