Burglar caught after CCTV images beamed live to mobile phone

A ST NEOTS burglar was caught in the act when CCTV images of him breaking into a Cambridgeshire business where beamed to a company director s mobile phone. A police helicopter was scrambled as the director was able to give a running commentary of the acti

A ST NEOTS burglar was caught in the act when CCTV images of him breaking into a Cambridgeshire business where beamed to a company director's mobile phone.

A police helicopter was scrambled as the director was able to give a running commentary of the actions of the three men as they tried to flee from the scene.

He could even tell officers that the burglars dropped a balaclava and gloves as they made their getaway.

At Ely Magistrates' Court on Thursday (February 19) the three men were sentenced for the attempted burglary at Trulink Ltd, at Willow Farm, Wilburton Road, Stretham.

Walter Smith, 25, of Cambridge Road, St Neots, and Tom Smith, 29, of Common Road, Potton, were both given a 16-week suspended jail sentence. Albert Smith, 31, of Common Road, Potton, was given a 12-month community order. All three men were ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay �25 costs.

Prosecuting, Sally Rose said CCTV at the rear of Trulink premises was rigged up to a motion sensor, which was attached to the director's mobile phone.

"He could watch the CCTV remotely in real time," she explained to the court. "He saw three men in dark clothing, one was wearing a balaclava and two others were trying to cover their faces."

A two-foot hole was smashed in a wall before the men left the premises, but they were tracked down by the police helicopter.

The solicitor representing the three men said they were on the look-out for hay for their horses.

"They found an iron bar in the yard, and one defendant accepts he tried to knock a hole in the wall," he added.