A serial burglar with 115 previous convictions has been jailed for his 40th burglary after doorbell footage of him in action was posted online. Anthony Coyles, 53, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and was sentenced to 42 months at Newcastle Crown Court.
Doorbell footage leads to arrest
A woman living at Derby Street, Sunderland, left her home to go shopping at around 1.50pm on July 5 this year. While she was out, a neighbour called to say her front door was open and her dogs were outside. When she returned, she found the door forced open and damaged. Her doorbell camera showed the burglar loitering and checking no one was home before breaking in.
The burglar stole jewellery worth almost £300 and a £20 note from the victim's niece's bedroom. The video was posted on Facebook, and a member of staff from Dawson and Sanderson travel agents recognised the burglar as someone they had exchanged foreign currency for. Coyles had given his name and address, and this information was shared with police, leading to his arrest. He said he threw the jewellery away because it was not real gold.
Pub break-in
On July 23, the manager of The Borough pub in Sunderland was in bed in her flat above the pub when she was woken around 4.30am by the alarm. She saw two men on a camera and went to confront them, shouting at them to get out. Two men, one of whom was Coyles, and two women had broken in. Coyles had used a hammer to smash a window and then let the others in through a door.
The court heard Coyles tried to gain access to a bandit machine, the other man moved a till, and the women helped themselves to spirit bottles.
Court sentencing
Recorder Rebecca Brown told him: "Everyone is entitled to feel safe in their home and that their possessions are secure. When you go into people's homes as a trespasser and take their possessions, you breach that."
Sophie Allinson Howells, defending, said Coyles had a traumatic childhood and has used drugs for a long time to cope with that. She added that he is able to cope with prison as it gives him respite from being homeless and he can stay off drugs while locked up. However, she said Coyles says prison is different now to how it was 20 years ago and he wants to spend his life in a more positive way in future.
