Burglar pilfered keys before returning for car

A burglar stole car keys from a house before returning later the same day for the car.

Jason Smith, 40, got off a bus in Lavender Crescent, Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, at about 4pm on 10 April 2025 and was caught on CCTV looking at the victim’s house.

He walked inside and stole the car keys from a handbag in the lounge.

Pictured: Jason Smith, 40.  

The victim realised she had been burgled, with the car keys missing, at about 7.40pm the same day, but her Ford Focus was still parked on the drive.

However, when she awoke next morning, Smith had returned and stolen the car.

The car was eventually found in St Martin’s Street, Millfield, Peterborough, on 18 April. 

Smith was identified from the CCTV footage and DNA found in the stolen car.

On Tuesday (25 August), at Huntingdon Law Courts, Smith, of HMP Wayland, Norfolk, was jailed for 32 months, having pleaded guilty to burglary and theft of a motor vehicle at an earlier hearing.

DC Matt Reed, who investigated, said: “Smith opportunistically targeted the victim by stealing the car keys but then clearly planned to return under cover of darkness to steal the car itself.

“Burglary can leave people feeling violated in their own homes, so I am pleased the sentence reflects the severity of his crime.”