IT should have been a case for special branch when two burglars hid up a tree after fleeing from the scene of a house raid.

Police drafted in their helicopter to look for the pair - and found a heat source high up in the 25ft conifer in a back garden.

Peter McGlade, 48, and Michael Mather, 25, claimed they had nothing to do with the night-time break-in in Middlesbrough in March.

The duo - who came down half-dressed without their shoes, dark clothing, gloves and scarves - said they "were just passing".

Professional burglar McGlade was jailed for seven years and Mather was given four years and nine months at Teesside Crown Court.

The court heard how £60,000 worth of property was stolen during 21 raids over seven weeks across Teesside and County Durham.

The spree came to an end when the two men were seen with ladders, trying to get through a window and neighbours called police.

Joshua Shuttleworth, 20, who was recruited for the last five offences as a driver, was locked up for 15 months today (Friday).

The three Middlesbrough men - McGlade, of Lothian Road, Mather, of Valley Road, and Shuttleworth, of Carisbrooke Avenue - admitted conspiracy to burgle.

The judge, Recorder Tony Hawks, described the offences as "a sustained campaign" which had left householders heartbroken.

Many lost thousands of pounds worth of jewellery - on most occasions, items which had been handed down through generations.

Nigel Soppitt, for McGlade - who has 20 previous burglary convictions - said: "He knows he's too old to be involved in this."

Garry Wood, for Mather, told the court that he had a drug habit which had got him into trouble many times in the past.

Shuttleworth's lawyer, Robert Mochrie, said he did not enter any of the properties, and was not involved in selecting targets.

Mr Recorder Hawks said: "You may have obtained sums well short of their real value, but these were items that are irreplaceable.

"You, McGlade, must have been told over and over again during the course of your criminal career the effect burglary has on occupants, and it has apparently had no effect on you whatsoever."