Burglar admits to 27 raids across West Suffolk and is jailed for 21 months

A 42-year-old man has been convicted for a string of burglaries in the west of Suffolk.

Daniel Todd, of King’s Close, Mildenhall appeared at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday (Friday, November 23) after being charged with two burglaries. One took place on October 1, at Worlington Hall Country Hotel, on Mildenhall Road, and the second on September 23, at Beck Row, at the Black Pearl fish and chip shop.

He was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to the above two incidents.

Between being charged and being dealt with at court, Todd chose to work with officers from Suffolk Police’s Operation Converter team and went on to admit another 25 burglaries at various business premises, including Newmarket and Mildenhall.

The incidents took place between August 25 and October 3 where a variety of items were stolen in the break-ins.

In one incident at a premises on Rayes Lane in Newmarket between September 4 and  laptops and a rucksack were taken from the premises that belong to the RAF Cadets.

On September 10, the security office to the Guineas Shopping Centre was broken into with a number of keys stolen giving access to shops within the shopping centre.

A number of break-ins then followed at seven premises in the centre including the British Heart Foundation premises where a selection of costume jewellery and watches were stolen from the premises, while various quantities of cash were taken in the other burglaries.

Three further burglaries were reported to have taken place on September 15 at business premises in Mildenhall on the Market Place and High Street with quantities of cash also stolen in these.

On September 26 and 27 four burglaries at business premises in Red Lodge took place where again cash was stolen in these incidents.

While other premises in the Beck Row, Lakenheath and Brandon areas were also burgled in late September and early October with further quantities of cash stolen.

DC Duncan Etchells, from the Operation Converter team, said: “Todd is a habitual burglar whose break-ins across the west of the county during the summer and early autumn caused misery and distress for many business owners. We often say how burglary is a clear invasion of people’s homes and personal space and highlight the upset it causes, but the impact is equally as distressing for business owners.

“They lose out considerably in terms of the financial impact it has on them – repairing damaged property, replacing stolen items and the potential enforced closures of the premises while the business owner clears the mess left behind. Of course there are added costs such as increased insurance premiums, and as well as the understandable emotional distress such burglaries cause for owners.

“Hopefully this sentence given in this case will provide some peace of mind to Todd’s victims and also act as a deterrent to other would-be burglars.”