A REPEAT Carlisle burglar who targeted at least five homes in a late-night crime spree has been jailed for four and a half years.

John Lowe, 45, who had already amassed 20 previous sets of burglary convictions during a long criminal career, spent the early hours of December 20 last year prowling around the Parkland Village housing estate in Carlisle looking for properties to raid.

In one house at Pillar Lane, he stole the home owner’s handbag, taking cash and personal papers relating to NHS cancer treatment for the victim’s father, prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told Carlisle Crown.

The defendant admitted three burglaries and two attempted burglaries.

The court heard how CCTV images recorded how the defendant - who was wearing 'distinctive reflective footwear' which made him easily recognisable - left his home in Hartington Street, Carlisle, at 3.20am.

He then made his way to the Parkland Village area, where he repeatedly tried to get into houses, trying garage doors and back doors.

He admitted targeting homes in Axon Drive, Barley Edge, Rufus Road, Pillar Lane and Oak Lane.

In the Pillar Lane home, the property owner was an NHS worker. She was woken by her partner to be told they had been burgled. 

He was woken when police arrived and shone torches through the window as they responded to the crime spree.

Various doors in the house which were closed were now open or ajar, including the door to the house’s integral garage and the utility room. Drawers in the family room had been rifled through while baby clothes were scattered in the hallway.

Mr Rogerson said the couple’s son’s school-bag had been searched and his iPad stolen. “

Other items were missing, including the home owner's handbag.

Mr Rogerson said: “Within the handbag had been some NHS paperwork relating to the father of [the victim], who was undergoing treatment for cancer.”

The value of the goods stolen from the house was around £1,200. In a statement, the woman said she was angry that the burglar thought it acceptable to search through her home.

The worst thing was knowing he was there while she and her husband as well as their baby and four-year-old son were asleep upstairs.

She no longer goes down the stairs at nights to feed her baby because she is scared to.

“I don’t want to live here any more,” the woman said. “The biggest thing is the intrusion.”

"It has really affected her," said Mr Rogerson, outlining how the family had cancelled a planned holiday so they had money for a new security system.

The woman’s purse was later found discarded.

It – along with the NHS paperwork for her father – were found on the ground "for everyone to see", said the woman.

Lowe's long offending history included seven domestic burglaries before 1999 and a further 13 sets of such offences since that date.

Kim Whittlestone, for Lowe, said he realised the impact of his offending on his victims and had handed himself in to the police.

“His explanation for his offending is limited because he has limited recollection,” said the barrister.

Since his last jail term he had engaged with probation staff and begun a relationship with a woman not involved with the criminal justice system.

“But she ended the relationship in the middle of December and that led to a deterioration in his mental health. His GP referred him to the Carleton Clinic and he began using illegal substances again.

“He had been stable on methadone since his last release.”

Miss Whittlestone added: “He apologises for his actions.”

Judge Nicholas Barker noted the date of Lowe's burglary “spree”, just four days before Christmas Eve, when the defendant no doubt believed there would be “rich pickings.

The judge had no doubt Lowe tried to break into other homes that night.

He said the defendant was “utterly insensitive to the plight” of his victims, telling him: “I will not allow you to terrorise the hard-working, decent citizens of Carlisle, who expect their homes to be respected by others and to be kept safe.”

The judge highlighted the various victim personal statements, including one from a woman whose husband ceased working away from home because she was now too nervous to be left alone.

He also cited the new mother too terrified to feed her new-born baby on the ground floor of her home after dark; and how she was plagued by nightmares. “You have heard that so many times before, John Lowe,” said the judge.

“You have been told by judges such as me that the impact on home owners of burglaries is significant but you are deaf to that.

"You care not. You only care for what you hope to steal in the course of those burglaries.”

He jailed Lowe for four and a half years. The defendant has already in the past had repeated minimum term ‘three strikes’ sentences, which attract a minimum three years jail term.