Thug locked up for wedding ring raid at his grandmother's home

Shane Winfield also took an iPad from his mother's house and smashed a bottle over the head of his girlfriend's grandfather in an unprovoked attack, seriously injuring him.

The 19-year-old was sentenced to five and a half years in a young offenders' institute when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Wedding and engagement rings, a camera and necklaces went missing during a burglary at the Wolverhampton home of Winfield's grandmother, prosecutors told the court.

Mr Bernard Linneman, prosecuting, said: "His grandmother suspected he had something to do with this because she had a key hidden outside the house which she thought he must know about."

She set out to catch him in the act, telling him she would be out of the house at around 1pm a few days later, the court was told.

Instead, she simply moved her car and hid upstairs with her sister, waiting for Winfield to come in.

"He knocked on the door and let himself in again," said Mr Linnemann.

"He was then confronted and left and told the police were on their way."

"The effect of this on her has been to cause her very considerable upset, feeling unsafe and scared in her own home, ill for a couple of days, bolts on her bedroom door and actually sleeping with the lights on."

On March 13 last year, Winfield, who was using a cocktail of drugs and steroids at the time, attacked his girlfriend's grandfather because he had been round to Winfield's mother's house to collect some of his granddaughter's belongings.

Mr Linnemann said: "Unprovoked, the defendant swung at him with a glass bottle and struck the side of his head.

"The glass shattered.

"Friends who were present told the defendant, 'Come on, Shane,' pulling him away, but he stepped forward again despite that and struck again at his face with the broken glass."

The victim was rushed to hospital, where he required 15 stitches.

Having already stolen from his grandmother, on February 25 Winfield went to his mother's house and took a brand new iPad, which he sold on at a pizza shop for £110.

Winfield pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to three counts of burglary and one of wounding with intent.

Mr Mukhtiar Ubhi, defending, said: "Essentially, during this period of his life he had been taking cannabis and cocaine and M-Cat and pretty much anything else he could get his hands on, including street steroids.

"Together with the other drugs he was taking, the cocktail completely dissolved his brain.

"He says he cannot describe in words how sorry he is for getting himself in this situation, for leaving his mother and family with the aftermath."