A burglar who posed as a water board worker to trick his way into two homes in just over an hour has been jailed.
Jackie O’Neill targeted a couple in their 90s after claiming their water pressure needed checking on 1 August this year.
O’Neill offered to pay compensation for the inconvenience but claimed he needed to change some of the cash notes he was carrying.
He then asked the couple to hold taps upstairs, but then rifled through their Saltley property and took jewellery, a bank card and cash from the woman’s handbag.
O’Neill then struck again shortly afterwards after calling at a home in Erdington and saying he represented a water company.
He asked a woman in her 70s to clear items from underneath the sink and while she did O’Neill made off with money from her home.
After reviewing CCTV footage O’Neill was identified as our prime suspect and he was arrested just over a week after the thefts.
The 42-year-old, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to/was convicted following a trial of two counts of burglary.
He was jailed for four years and a month at Birmingham Crown Court last Monday (7 October).
Distraction burglars often prey on the vulnerable and pretend to be someone they are not to gain entry to your home.