Burglar is jailed for raid spree

A burglar who admitted 30 raids on addresses in the region after being given away by his distinctive trainers was today behind bars.

Daniel Hickenbottom burgled 25 homes and four other properties, and also attempted a further theft in a one-man crimewave during which property worth tens of thousands of pounds was stolen.

He was finally caught when police called at his home on an unrelated inquiry the day after he had taken £2,000 worth of electrical equipment from a house in Bloxwich on April 3.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday that the 30-year-old got into the house in Mulberry Road by kicking in the French doors.

He left a tell-tale imprint of the sole of his trainers at the scene.

A police officer involved in the visit to Hickenbottom's home the following day spotted the similarity between the defendant's footwear and the pattern left by the shoe of the burglar.

Mrs Sati Ruck, prosecuting, said hair straighteners taken during the raid were found, while scientific checks confirmed the match with the footprint. Hickenbottom admitted being the burglar and then took police on a tour which resulted in him being charged with two other burglaries in Walsall and Bloxwich involving £4,500 worth of electrical goods and jewellery.

He asked for a further 27 offences to be taken into consideration.

The court heard that the defendant, of Broad Lane, Walsall, had a drug problem.

He pleaded guilty to three burglaries with 27 other offences involving over £20,000 worth of property taken into consideration and was jailed for four years and 11 months.