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Black Country burglars caught after van got stuck in snow

Three burglars who broke into two homes were caught after their van got stuck in the snow on a country lane, a court heard.

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John Burton, Matthew Price and Robert Lee broke into two homes on March 23 last year, stealing a handbag from one, before dumping it, and a sewing cupboard key from the other.

They were caught when the van they were using got stuck on snowy lanes and they ran off. After admitting a number of charges at an earlier hearing, the men appeared for sentencing at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

Burton, aged 36, from Broom Road, Dudley, had admitted one charge of burglary and was jailed for two years and eight months, while Lee, 23, from Neve Avenue, Wolverhampton, had admitted two charges of burglary and was given a 20-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. Lee was also ordered to carry out 250 hours' unpaid work and given a 12-month probation supervision order.

Price, 33, from Meadow Road, Dudley, admitted two charges of burglary and was jailed for two years and four months. He also admitted a separate charge of dangerous driving relating to an incident near Bridgnorth on August 9 and was jailed for eight months to run consecutively to the burglary sentence.

The homes they targeted were near Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.

Judge Robin Onions said the sentences were a warning to 'nuisance offenders' who thought they could break into secluded homes. He said:

"People must learn, they cannot come to Shropshire and break into houses and think you will get away with it."

David Bratt, for Price, and Jabeen Akhtar, for Lee, said their clients were sorry for their actions.

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