Two strangers knocked at the rear conservatory door at a house where a woman was at home with her two young children on a dark Sunday evening last month, a court heard.

Daniel McGill and an unknown accomplice approached the property in Stanley at 7.40pm on January 7 and saw the woman in the living room with a young child.

Durham Crown Court was told they tried the handle to the conservatory door and McGill put his body weight to it, trying to force it open, before simply knocking on the glass pane.

The Northern Echo: Daniel McGill jailed for attempted burglary of vulnerable woman at home with two young children

The female resident answered the door and McGill and his companion entered, asking for a bag to sleep in as they were homeless.

She gave them a shop bag, but they carried on chatting, as they walked into the living room, while the victim was shutting the curtains.

Caroline McGurk, prosecuting, said when they left the woman ‘s house they used the bag she gave them to fill with more than £100 of foodstuffs from a Marks and Spencer food outlet at a filling station in Chester-le-Street, later that evening.

The Northern Echo:

Miss McGurk read from an impact statement given by the victim who described the anxiety and trauma the incident had caused her, with her two young children in the house at the time, one asleep upstairs when the intruders were present.

She said the pair gave her a “sob story” claiming they were homeless and left having stolen a sandwich and with the bag she gave them out of sympathy.

McGill was recognised on CCTV from the shop premises targeted and, when arrested, made no comment to police questions.

But, appearing at magistrates’ court recently, the 37-year-old defendant, of Bede Terrace, Bowburn, admitted attempted burglary and theft.

The crown court sentencing hearing was told McGill has 37 convictions for 81 offences, 52 of them for theft and similar matters, plus six of burglary and, now, one of attempted burglary.

Tony Davis, in mitigation, said following a previous conviction the defendant was making progress with voluntary drug testing on a regular basis and did submit some clean test results.

“The position now appears to have been a relapse, leading to his offending.

“He realises that he needs assistance for his actions.

“He would point out it was not a deliberate targeting given the impact statement we have heard.

“He made immediate admissions at the first opportunity, at court.”

Judge Jo Kidd told McGill that he has been given, “numerous opportunities to engage with the Probation Service", most recently when he came before the court and received a community order, in July 2022.

“Despite that targeted work on your drug addiction you nevertheless relapsed and committed those further offences at the beginning of this year.

“This was a house containing a woman with young children.

“You were seen looking into the property and you were either going to distract her, whereupon you would gain entry, or gain entry without the need to distract her because you perceived her to be vulnerable.”

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Judge Kidd told McGill had he taken the case to trial and been convicted it would have been a 42-month prison sentence.

But, she deducted one-third in recognition for the defendant’s guilty plea at his first court appearance.

She added two months, however, for the shop theft to add to the 28-month net sentence, making a total jail term of 30 months.