Crooks jailed for string burglaries and car thefts across Sheffield and Rotherham

Anthony Smith, 32, of Leppings Lane, Hillsborough and Thomas Glaves, 24, of Leslie Avenue, Maltby, were jailed for ten years and two months between them at Derby Crown Court on Friday.

The pair were arrested by officers at the beginning of April, after being spotted in a cloned vehicle they had taken during one of the burglaries.

The court heard throughout March and April of this year, Smith and Graves broke into five different properties and stole a number of high value cars, a variety of electrical items and work tools.

On Monday, March 27, the pair broke the locks of two properties in Rotherham to gain entry and search for the keys to cars parked outside. During these burglaries, a Mercedes convertible was stolen from a property on Howlett Drive and black Audi was from another on Godric Drive, both in Brinsworth.

Over a week later, during the early hours of Wednesday, April 5, the men then forced their way in to two further properties on Cardwell Drive, Stradbroke, and stole an Audi and a Vauxhall Corsa.

Detective Constable Ryan Griffiths, the officer in charge of the investigation, said: "The cloned licence plates Glaves and Smith had used on the stolen cars were identified by officers during a local patrol and they were arrested. Following their arrests, an investigation was launched into the men and officers began gathering evidence from local enquiries, which linked them to the different offences.

“Burglary is a distressing and intrusive crime and I hope by highlighting this result, we are able to demonstrate our dedication to identify and work to bring offenders before the courts.”

Glaves and Smith were both charged with five counts of burglary and four counts of theft of a motor vehicle. Glaves was also charged with handling stolen goods in connection to the thefts.

They pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.