Burglars threatened to 'slash' homeowner with knife before boasting about stolen bike to second victim

Two burglars threatened to "cut up" a homeowner who caught them in his shed.

Dale Taylor, 20, and Tyler Colligan, 19, who was carrying a lock knife, screamed abuse at the man, who came out of his Thornaby home after he had heard a loud bang at 5.15am on an August 2022 morning. The duo shouted: "Howay. We know where you live!

"We're going to cut you. We're going to slash you," as they walked towards the man repeating their threats.

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The pair were trying to burgle the victim's garden shed, where he kept motorbikes and mountain bikes, on Park Avenue. When police investigated, they were able to identify Taylor and Colligan as the two men who had burgled another garden shed an hour earlier. They were captured on CCTV stealing a £600 bike from a shed on Coral Drive in Thornaby.

On Thursday, Sam Faulks, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court that a mother and her daughter woke up during the first burglary and saw Colligan "running along Diamond Road with his hood up." Mr Faulks said that "Tyler was on top of a flat bed truck, with the stolen bike on the ground next to him."

The next day, the daughter saw Tayler and Colligan "driving on motorbikes. They stopped and shouted at her. They had taken their t-shirts off and tied them around their faces. One of them was carrying a knife."

Mr Faulks said that the two men taunted the girl, saying: "Was it me who pinched your bike?" The girl's brother became scared, and cycled away.

In a statement, a friend of the victim and her brother - who was there as Taylor and Colligan arrived on their motorbikes - said: "I honestly thought that if the males got hold of her brother, they would have stabbed him. I'm absolutely terrified about what might happen after giving statement to the police.

"Thornaby's a small place and we'll bump into them again."

Dale Taylor also faced charges of dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking after he was picked up on CCTV driving his scooter down the pavement of Stockton High Street - weaving in and out of pedestrians on November 4, 2022. He was later captured driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

Taylor was also part of a group of men caught driving a stolen Land Rover Discovery in December 2022. The vehicle hit a police car, after officers tried to "box it in" on Tedder Avenue. Taylor fled the stolen car, but he was found hiding in a large bin in the carpark of a nearby Montessori nursery.

Taylor, of Beechwood Road in Thornaby, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary, burglary, intimidating a witness, dangerous driving and to aggravated vehicle taking. He has previous convictions for burglaries.

Colligan, of Oxbridge Lane in Stockton, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary, burglary and to intimidating a witness. He has previous convictions for burglary, harassment and violence.

In mitigation for Dale Taylor, Stephen Constantine told the court that his clients' drug use had "spiralled out of control" and he had "very little recollection" of what he had done. Mr Constantine said that Taylor has been in custody since August last year, and it's been "a hellish experience" for him.

Robert Mochrie, for Colligan, said that his client was just 17 when he carried out the offences.

Judge Jonathan Carroll told the pair: "This was clearly a planned burglary expedition. The shed alarm on Coral Drive went off as you broke in, at 4am. You, Taylor, were seen on a flat bed truck, trying to hide your face with your clothes.

"A £600 bicycle was stolen. You then tried to burgle another shed. You made serious threats to the occupant. You, Colligan, had a knife.

"The next day, there was a confrontation between you and the girl who's bike you had stolen. You were boasting about the bike. It was clear attempt to frighten someone off giving evidence against you."

Taylor was jailed for two-years-and-six-months.

Colligan was handed an 11-month prison term, suspended for two-years. He will be placed on an electronic tag for six months and must attend 30-rehabilitation days. He was also ordered to to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.