A burglar who broke who into a house in Clay Street, Histon, has been jailed for two years thanks to evidence provided by a local witness.
In September 2024, Patrick Wall, of no fixed address, smashed a window and searched a bedroom at the property but in doing so triggered the house alarm.
As he left empty-handed, a passer-by who heard the alarm and saw the intruder walking along the driveway, took photos of him, followed him along Winders Lane and called the police.
Wall got into a car and drove off, and an unidentified man, seen by the car with him, walked off towards Cottenham Road.
But the passer-by had noted down the number plate, and the vehicle was found and seized in Harrow, London, two days later. A black jacket, similar to one Wall was wearing in the passer-by’s photos, was also found in the car.
Arrest and conviction
Soon after, Wall was arrested at a house in Arbury. It was discovered he had also broken into a house in Carisbrooke Road, Arbury, in June, and had attempted a burglary in Camberley, Surrey, in August.
At Cambridge Crown Court, Wall was jailed for two years and four months, having been found guilty of burglary.
PC Andy Smith, from Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s acquisitive crime team, said: “I’d like to commend and thank the passer-by of the Histon burglary as his photo and the information he passed onto us played a big part in getting Wall convicted.
“It was also very brave of him to follow a potentially dangerous criminal who had just burgled a property.
“Burglary is a despicable crime that leaves people feeling incredibly vulnerable in their own homes so it’s great Wall is now behind bars.”