Roofer burgled disabled Hartlepool woman's home while she slept on sofa

Michael Hutchinson, 30, was caught on home CCTV in the resident’s garden at 5am before entering the porch while she was asleep on the couch.

She saw him looking around in the garden before he left.

Nothing was stolen but the victim and her children were left feeling very frightened, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Hutchinson claimed he could not remember the incident last September as he had taken a Valium.

He was found guilty of burglary in his absence after a trial in the magistrates court and was sent to the crown court to be sentenced.

The court heard Hutchinson had a torch during the incident which the judge said he used “to stake out the area”.

In a victim impact statement, the homeowner said: “I’m constantly looking at my CCTV cameras now.”

Kelleigh Lodge, defending, said in mitigation that Hutchinson always carried the small torch with him.

She said he was only in the porch for “a matter of seconds” adding: “He doesn’t go any further. There was no damage caused and no financial loss.

"He is genuinely sorry for any impact that his actions have had on the complainant in this case.”

The court heard Hutchinson as an “awful record” but this was his first burglary.

Ms Lodge added he has also experienced significant mental health issues.

Recorder Aisha Wadoodi jailed Hutchinson, of Dallas Road, Hartlepool, was jailed for two years.

She told him: “She was very frightened at what happened.”