A 24-year-old man has been handed a six-year jail sentence for a series of car and key burglary offences in Upton, Ellesmere Port and Wirral.
Liam Greenwood, of Rodney Street, Tranmere, stole items worth around £340,000 – including a BMW, Skoda Octavia and Subaru Impreza.
Greenwood stole high-value vehicles in Upton on October 9 and November 20 last year, and conducted four burglaries and two thefts from vehicles during that period.
The BMW he stole was involved in a police pursuit and eventually found abandoned in Sandycroft, North Wales.
Greenwood was successfully traced via a train ticket that was left discarded in the boot of the vehicle with other stolen property.
He was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Monday (April 27).
In summing up, the judge made reference to his record for burglary, his antecedence indicating that he was a career burglar, and that the premises targeted were all occupied, some with children, and that the offences were committed in the dead of night.
He also made reference to the defendant being on licence at the time of committing these offences, and commended the courage of the victims facing the defendant in court to read out their victim statements.
Det Con Matthew Stenton from Chester Proactive Policing Team said: “This is a great result meaning a man who has caused distress and upset for people across the county and beyond will be behind bars for a significant length of time.
“I am particularly grateful to the victims who spoke at the sentencing, it takes a great deal of courage to stand and face someone who has caused you distress and upset and tell people how it affected you.”
