Breeze block burglar sentenced to three and a half years

Matthew Boreland of Hillmeads Road, Birmingham has been found guilty and sentenced to three and a half years in prison for burglary and theft of a motor vehicle.  

In the early morning on 11 July, the 38-year-old Matthew gained access to a house in Henley-in-Arden after entering the garden and putting half a breeze block through a glass sliding door.

The victim (who had been woken up by the noise) came downstairs to find that the keys for his Audi had been taken from his kitchen table.

Matthew was caught less than an hour later by West Mercia Police traffic officers walking away from a car park in Hudsons View, Birmingham, which contained the stolen car.

His clothing matched CCTV for outside the victim’s house.

With the assistance of a police dog, the keys were discovered in a bush less than two metres away from where Matthew was arrested.

Matthew was also found to be in possession of a glasses case, a mallet, and a trowel (which were linked with the victim’s address), as well as a pair of black gloves and a balaclava.

The sentence was delivered at Coventry Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday 14 June).

Detective Constable Howell said “The time between committing the act of burglary and police catching the individual – only an hour’s difference in total – is an excellent result for both our forces.

“I would like to thank the members of the public who supported police enquiries during the investigation.

“We’re very satisfied with the results of this investigation.”