A BURGLAR has been jailed after walking into a family home in broad daylight intending to raid the property.

Ronald Henderson, pictured below, targeted the house on Ormesby Road, Middlesbrough, just before 6pm on May 28.

The Northern Echo:

The homeowner heard someone in his house and called out believing it was his son but when he got no response he checked the house and found the 37-year-old in his rear garden.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Henderson tried to bluff that he was looking for a child’s football but after initially helping him look the man became suspicious and asked him to leave.

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said the homeowner checked his CCTV and the defendant was seen acting suspiciously outside the property before entering uninvited.

The court heard how Henderson had committed a burglary at Value Cars, Skippers Lane, Middlesbrough, on February 7.

The owner saw him acting suspiciously and a check of his CCTV showed Henderson in a rear office area of the garage. The footage was shown to a police officer who identified the defendant, Miss Haigh added.

The court heard how Henderson had also using a bank card stolen during a burglary at two shops in the town.

A personal impact statement from the attempted burglary victim was read out to court.

The court heard how his wife is now ‘terrified’ to stay in her own home and has resulted in him not being able to visit his dementia-suffering father as regularly as he would like due to his wife’s ongoing fears and anxieties.

His barrister, Martin Scarborough, asked for the shortest possible sentence.

Henderson, of Lytton Court, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to commercial burglary, fraud by false representation and burglary with intent to steal.

Judge Paul Watson, the Recorder or Middlesbrough, jailed Henderson for 20 months. He said: “Your record goes back more than 25 years. You have been in trouble a number of times, including for burglary.”