Father's bedroom burglar struggle

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A father struggled with a burglar in his 15-year-old daughter's bedroom before pinning him down and waiting for police, Mold Crown Court has heard.

John Littler, 33, was demanding the keys to the family's Land Rover but the girl's father was awoken by the noise and found him crouching by her bed.

Littler, from Vaynor near Newtown, Powys admitted burglary, aggravated vehicle taking and other offences.

He was jailed for three and a half years and banned from driving for five.

The court heard Littler had taken a Peugeot belonging to a volunteer street pastor during the early hours of New Year's Day.

The pastor, who was on duty, had left his car running to defrost the windscreen, but Littler took it and drove off.

This is as serious a burglary as one can imagine Judge John Rogers QC

He crashed near a farm on the outskirts of Welshpool, failed to get into a Land Rover parked outside, and then went into the farm house where he caused indiscriminate damage.

Prosecutor Emmalyne Downing said Littler then went through five doors to get to the teenage girl's bedroom.

The 15-year-old thought she was still dreaming when a man appeared at her bed.

He pulled her bedclothes but did not touch her and demanded to know where the keys were.

All sorts of damage

Littler had admitted burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, damaging the Land Rover, having no insurance or licence, driving while disqualified and failing to provide a breath specimen when he appeared before Welshpool magistrates on 5 January.

Judge John Rogers QC said that the defendant had no idea of the effect of his behaviour on others and had minimised what he had done.

Littler had told a probation officer that he believed it had been blown out of all proportion.

"He has no idea how serious this is," said the judge,

"In the middle of the night he burgles an occupied dwelling.

"Once inside he maliciously causes all sorts of damage then most significantly, he goes to the bedroom of a child, a girl aged 15.

"He wakes her and attempts to obtain the keys to the vehicle outside.

"When the father appears he struggles with him."

The judge added: "This is as serious a burglary as one can imagine."

Oliver King, defending, said that his client had not targeted his victims.

He had crashed the stolen car in a farm gate, saw the house nearby, and went there to try and take another vehicle.

Littler had not attacked the householder but admitted that he struggled with him as he tried to get away.

Mr King said it was out of character.

He said Littler's best point was his guilty plea which had avoided his victims the additional distress of having to give evidence against him.