(Image: West Yorkshire Police)
A pair of burglars who stole a man’s car from outside his house whilst he was asleep have been locked up.
Bradford Crown Court heard how Kane Delph and Harry Leeming were caught on CCTV wandering around Denholme in the hours prior to the night-time burglary in July this year.
Their faces were uncovered and they were identified after the offence.
Prosecutor Tayo Dasaolu said the victim in the burglary went to bed at 10pm and woke the next morning to find his car gone.
He also realised that his car keys were missing, and that he had forgotten to lock his kitchen door.
The car, valued at £4,000, has not been recovered.
When the duo was arrested 25-year-old Delph was found with 75 counterfeit £5 notes on his person.
Whilst in custody he was said to be “irate and frustrated” and hurled hostile abuse at two Asian police officers, referencing their race and religion.
The court heard that both men had previous convictions for burglary.
Mitigating for Delph, of no fixed abode, Rhianydd Clement said no specific address had been targeted and that the burglary and theft of the car had been “opportunistic”.
She said both Delph and Leeming had “made the error” of having their faces seen on CCTV.
She accepted that there had been some degree of planning but that there was insufficient evidence to be sure that planning had been significant.
She said Delph had been released from custody, had little money, and could not afford to buy food.
He was also struggling with his mental health.
She said he wished to apologise through her to all the complainants, and to the court.
Mitigating for Leeming, 23, of Shire Road, Morley, Jo Shepherd said he had decided to move away from Bradford to avoid being around older associates as he was vulnerable to being pressured by them.
She said he was someone who found it difficult to desist being involved with them, which she said was due to his “low maturity”.
She added: “He is 23 and has a great deal of growing up to do.”
Sentencing the pair, who appeared via video link from HMP Leeds, His Honour Judge Ahmed Nadim said they were not strangers to the courts and that previous sentences had not deterred their offending.
He handed Delph a total of four years’ imprisonment.
Leeming received two years in jail.
He told them that domestic burglary was “a particularly serious offence” due to the nature of intrusion on the victims.
He added: “Each offence represents a serious violation of their privacy and security.”
In the case of Delph, Judge Nadim ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the counterfeit banknotes.