By Serial burglar charged after multiple offences in Grimsby whilst on license
A Grimsby serial criminal burgled the homes of two couples as they slept and escaped one property with just a carton of juice and a candle.
Dad-of-four Anthony Burns, 37, who has 48 convictions for 108 offences including burglary and robbery, appeared at Grimsby Crown Court on Thursday, September 1. He was charged with two counts of dwelling burglary and one count of fraud by false representation after he burgled homes on Wellowgate and Queen Mary Avenue in July this year.
The court heard that the woman who lived at the Wellowgate property was asleep on the sofa when between 1.15 am and 1.30 am, the woman assumed it was her partner. Following the Wellowgate burglary, forensic examinations placed Burns at the scenes of crime, answering ‘no comment’ when apprehended by Police.
The court heard that on July 11 at 6.45 am, Burns forced a living room window open to enter a property on Queen Mary Avenue, following his release from prison.
Defending Burns, Michael Forest said: “He has four children who, in the brief time he was on licence, he established connections with. He wants to have a meaningful relationship with them going forward. He is adamant he will not make the same mistakes. He fell in with a bad crowd while staying at halfway houses. He committed these burglaries with the sole intention of feeding himself. His main motivation was to buy food to survive.”
“This is a burglary where people were asleep in their own homes. People are unnerved to discover that people have been in the house and stolen items from it. It was overnight when the streets were quiet. You committed [the burglaries] when you were already on license,” Judge Fanning said.
Burns was sentenced to four years imprisonment which will run alongside his current prison sentence for a previous offence. He was also ordered to pay a £190 surcharge.
“I feel like I’m always being set to fail every time I get released from prison,” he said before being led out of the dock.
