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Jailed for almost six years: Walsall cousins who burgled from Cheltenham to Cheshire

Two cousins from Walsall who committed burglaries from Cheltenham to Cheshire, have been jailed for a total of 70 months.

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Scott and David Simkiss hurled a brick through a glass door pane and burgled a house in Chester Road, Brownhills, on October 7 last year. The next day they climbed through an open first floor window in Old Road, Rugely before bagging an array of computer equipment and jewellery.

But the kindred crooks also went alone on several raids.

David, from Dora Street in Walsall, had already struck in Rugeley – this time in Main Road on September 23 – where he forced a patio door with a shovel and took a coin collection worth £1,000, cash and valuables.

Scott, from West Street in Leamore, took a wallet containing £200 from a home in Charlton Drive, Cheltenham, on September 19, after taking advantage of a patio door left unlocked and travelled to Nantwich 10 days later to commit another break-in.

Forensics experts recovered prints taken from the scene of the Cheshire break-in that pointed to Scott Simkiss as the offender.

Both men were arrested by detectives on October 15 with Scott, aged 31, going on to be charged with three burglaries, whilst 30-year-old David was hauled before the courts on two counts.

They admitted the offences and at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Wednesday, January 28, they were jailed for 40 and 30 months respectively.

Both men asked for the Brownhills burglary to be taken into consideration by the court, whilst Scott Simkiss also asked for two more burglaries, in Crewe and Nantwich, to be similarly noted by the judge.

Walsall Police PC Matthew Parsons, from the offender management team, said; "Both were prepared to travel fairly long distances to commit offences…their thinking being that by crossing police borders it would be harder to track them or link offences.

"However, we worked closely with colleagues in Staffordshire, Gloucestershire and Cheshire Police to identify a pattern of offending and were able to link them to the Simkisses. They were left with little option but to admit the burglaries."

Burglary has fallen to an all-time low across the West Midlands. Latest figures show the number of burglaries is down by nine per cent since last April - a fall of 965 households - compared to the same period 12 months ago.

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