Mercedes stolen in raid on single mum's home as she and son, 10, slept

Grimsby Crown Court
-Credit: (Image: Donna Clifford/GrimsbyLive)


Two masked men broke into a woman's home while she and her 10-year-old son slept and stole keys to her Mercedes parked outside, a court heard.

The woman later posted a photograph of the car on social media and an alert resident responded telling her it was parked in her street. At Grimsby Crown Court, Judge Paul Watson KC said she had shown "remarkable initiative" in getting her car back in tact.

Jake Robertson, 18 and Harry Cairney, 19, both formerly of Scunthorpe, admitted burglary and theft of the Mercedes valued at between £13,000 and £15,000. Cairney also admitted offences of dangerous driving, failing to provide a sample for analysis and driving without insurance.

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Robertson asked the judge to take five other offences into consideration, including non-dwelling burglaries in 2021.

Prosecuting, Holly Thompson said the Mercedes owner went to bed at her home in Buckingham Avenue, Scunthorpe on February 14. In the morning she discovered the back door lock had been forced and her purse containing items worth around £300 was missing along with her car keys. The Mercedes was no longer on her driveway.

Her phone had registered two notifications of payments, one at a Tesco garage and another one for shock absorbers worth £309. Both men had worn balaclavas in the burglary, told Miss Thompson.

The car owner posted a message on social media and a resident on Thompson Street immediately responded with a message to say it was parked in her street.

The prosecutor told how Humberside Police viewed CCTV images from the Tesco store to identify the men. They were later arrested and one of them was still in possession of the bank card stolen in the burglary. Roberston still had the woman's stolen driving licence.

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Reading from the victim's impact statement, Miss Thompson said the single mother was "utterly shocked" by the burglary and upset by the theft of her "dream car."

While he was on bail, Cairney was spotted by police driving four passengers in a Volkswagen Polo on Messingham Road. Despite illuminating their blue lights, the car failed to stop and a pursuit by police lasted for 20 minutes.

Cairney was seen jumping a red light and going the wrong way around a roundabout, shortly after midnight on August 15. When the driver was stopped by police he refused to give a sample for analysis.

For Robertson, Mark Thomas said his client had a low IQ and an intellectual disability. He said his client had been in care since the age of nine years and had recently lost his grandfather.

For Cairney, Craig Lowe said there had been limited intrusion into the woman's home and the stolen car was recovered intact. He said cannabis had been an issue for him and he was keen to move away from those who influence him. Mr Lowe added: "He has learned his lesson and does not want to serve more time in prison."

Judge Watson jailed Robertson for a total of 16 months and disqualified him from driving for 20 months. He jailed Cairney for a total of 18 months and banned him from driving for 21 months and ordered he take an extended retest. Having served several months in custody on remand, both men are due for release in the coming weeks.