Jail for burglar who attempted to break in to home of Sheffield couple as they were sleeping

A man who attempted to break in to the home of a Sheffield couple as they were sleeping has been put behind bars for more than a year.
A man who attempted to break in to the home of a Sheffield couple as they were sleeping has been put behind bars for more than a year, following a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court (pictured) todayA man who attempted to break in to the home of a Sheffield couple as they were sleeping has been put behind bars for more than a year, following a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court (pictured) today
A man who attempted to break in to the home of a Sheffield couple as they were sleeping has been put behind bars for more than a year, following a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court (pictured) today

Sheffield Crown Court was told how at around 1.20am on December 5 last year, Lee Webster, along with another man, attempted to gain access to a property in Brier Close, Waterthorpe by breaking a euro lock on the back door.

Susan Evans, prosecuting, told the court how the occupants of the property, a couple, were woken by the sound of 29-year-old Webster and his co-accused trying to break the lock.

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She said: "His CCTV showed showed one man trying to climb the garden wall. He saw another man with him, described as the defendant.

"The images were caught on his CCTV, and the defendant was identified from these images."

Both men fled the scene, after failing to break the lock.

The court was not told whether the identity of Webster's partner in crime, who was not named during the court hearing, was also discovered through the images.

The occupants of the property did not provide a victim impact statement, but the court was told that they are both suffering from ill-health.

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Ms Evans said Webster had previous convictions for dwelling-house burglaries, the most recent of which were in March and May of 2015.

Webster received a two-year sentence for the May conviction, the court heard.

Webster, of Inkersall Drive, Westfield pleaded guilty to one count of attempted burglary at an earlier hearing.

Defending, Andrew Smith, told the court that while he acknowledged the seriousness of the offence, that Webster 'desisted' after an initial attempt to break-in.

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"Behind the offending is an addiction to drugs that he wants to address - something he has not been successful at yet," added Mr Smith.

Recorder David Kelly sentenced Webster to 20-months in prison for the offence.

He told him: "You tried to burgle a premises in Sheffield, it being a domestic premises. The people who lived there, at 1.20am as they were sleeping, were woken up to the sound of you banging on the door.

"You were detected a short time after trying to burgle that premises."

He added: "The trauma to the occupants is no doubt not as serious because you did not manage to break-in and invade their home."