Police follow snowy footprints to apprehend bungling burglars (From Your Local Guardian)

Police follow snowy footprints to apprehend bungling burglars

6:40am Friday 9th January 2009

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Bungling burglars were quickly apprehended after cops followed a trail of footprints they unwittingly made in the newly laid snow.

The trail of footprints led police from the scene of the crime to the two young men’s hideout - over an hour away.

Police arrived at an address in Glebe Road, Sutton, at around 4.35am on Monday.

Snow had been falling for around an hour when police approached the house to find the garage door slightly ajar.

The alarm for the car in the driveway had been triggered.

PCs Richard Atkins and Dave Earl could not believe their luck, however, when they saw a double set of footprints from the crime scene in the snow.

The trail took them in and out of driveways and along several roads for over an hour.

The route took them along Sandy Lane, Scotsdale Close, across the A217 at Belmont Rise, Summerville Gardens, Quarry Park Road and finally into Antrobus Close.

Along the route, one observant milkman out on his early morning rounds, said he had seen at least two males pass by moments earlier.

The officers, who had been following the trail on foot and by car, and were assisted by a dog unit, caught up with the suspects in Antrobus Close.

The suspects, aged 16 and 17, were found with a number of electronic items in their possession and arrested on suspicion of burglary at 5.40 am and taken to Sutton Police station where they remain in custody.

PC Atkins said: “This was a well co-ordinated and professional search made much easier by the snowy conditions.”

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