Burnley robbery gang face jail sentence (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Burnley robbery gang face jail sentence

9:00pm Monday 21st January 2013 in News

A JUDGE has warned three men and two women that they are facing jail after they confessed to staging a violent robbery at the home of a Burnley man and stealing his car.

Burnley Crown Court heard that the 41-year-old victim was threatened with knives during the ordeal at his home in Chestnut Rise last October.

David Steer, Zak Ward, John Williams, Rebecca Greenough and Sally Brennand, fled with a haul of household goods including laptop and tablet computers.

And they also stole the victim's Audi A4 car — which later had to be disabled by police using a portable 'stinger' device, to deflate the tyres, in Yeadon Way in Blackpool.

After making the arrests, police said that the victim require hospital treatment for serious facial injuries.

All five were initially charged with aggravated burglary but after legal discussions Steer, 26, formerly of Dall Street, Burnley, but now living in Whitworth, Ward, 25, from Radcliffe, Williams, 20, of Elizabeth Street, Greenough, 18, of Granby Street and Brennand, 19, of no fixed address, all Burnley, pleaded guilty to robbery.

Steer, who has previous convictions for carrying out street robberies, also admitted driving with excess alcohol and having no insurance while driving the Audi.

Bailing the five for pre-sentence reports, Judge Beverley Lunt said: “You know that it is going to be prison, it is just a question of how long, but you should still co-operate with the author of the reports I am ordering.”

Police said that the victim was tied up and had his house ransacked during the attack. He managed to get free and alert police just under two hours later.

The five will be sentenced at Burnley Crown Court on March 8 and were told that they must not approach the victim or Chestnut Rise before the next hearing.