Burglar who preyed on elderly goes to jail

A burglar from Failsworth who took part in a midnight raid on an elderly couple’s house has been jailed.

Wayne Barker and two accomplices broke into the property in Hadfield, Derbyshire, while the couple were asleep upstairs.

Derby Crown Court heard how one of the intruders wore a mask and shouted “police, police” as Barker climbed the stairs.

Barker claimed he was “bullied” into breaking into the house by the two men, from Manchester.

But a judge told the 22-year-old from Hampton Road, Failsworth, he had weakened his mitigation by not naming them.

Barker was sentenced to 20 months in prison after he admitted the burglary and an attempted burglary at another house in Hadfield on June 4.

Lisa Gill, prosecuting, told the court how the couple were woken by a banging noise before they heard someone coming up the stairs. She said the husband then saw a man in a balaclava burst into the bedroom demanding his car keys.

Miss Gill said he followed the intruder down to the living room where the man escaped through a broken window.

Nothing was taken during the raid but Miss Gill said the man’s wife described what had happened as a “nightmare.”

Barker was arrested after his fingerprints were found at the second break-in.

Martin Callery, defending, admitted Barker had crossed the custody threshold with “both feet” but said he had been “press-ganged” into committing the offences.

Judge Robert Brown told Barker: “While you may have been under pressure from others, I have to ask myself is a sentence of immediate custody the only one that would be justified and I am satisfied the answer is yes.”