Prolific burglar jailed after committing 20 offences across North Tyneside in a week

A prolific burglar who committed 20 offences across North Tyneside in the space of a week has been jailed.

Mason Jones, 18, was charged with 17 counts of attempted burglary, two counts of burglary, and one count of theft of a motor vehicle relating to incidents in January this year. Officers from Northumbria Police were alerted to a dozen attempted break-ins across the Killingworth area shortly after 2am on January 21.

Jones, of no fixed abode, had unsuccessfully tried to force entry to properties on Amberley Chase, Flodden, Garth Twenty Four, Greenacres Close, Oakfield Drive, Sedgemoor, Stratford Close, West Mount and West Wynd. It was later reported that a BMW had been stolen from outside a home close to Oakfield Drive over the course of the same night.

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Further reports of attempted break-ins were made two days later on Station Road in Wallsend, from two properties on Cartington Avenue in Shiremoor on January 25, and at Lauderdale Avenue in Wallsend on January 27. Two more reports were made of attempted break-ins on Station Road in Wallsend just after 2am on January 28.

Jones was arrested shortly after the final burglary and enquiries linked him to the further series of recent attempted burglaries across the borough.

He pleaded guilty to all charges at Newcastle Crown Court on February 27 and was back there last week, where he was sentenced to 28 months in a young offenders institution.

Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Fenney, of Northumbria Police, said: "We are pleased with this result following a series of offences which will have unsettled the community. Burglary is an invasive crime which can unfortunately leave victims feeling unsafe in their own homes."

"This conviction and sentence would not have been possible without the assistance of the public, so this shows the value in reporting concerns to police."