Jail for burglar who broke into woman's home while she slept

A burglar who broke into a woman’s home while she slept upstairs has been jailed.

Jamie Stainsby entered the house on Forster Street, in Darlington, by smashing a kitchen window on the evening of November 26 last year.

Once inside, he stole an electric bike, a Rab jacket, and a sentimental money box before fleeing the scene.

Officers spotted him nearby just a few minutes later – wearing the stolen jacket – and arrested him following a brief foot pursuit.

The 26-year-old was also wanted by police for failing to meet the terms of his licence.

In March 2022, he was jailed for 62 months for possession of drugs with intent to supply and was still the subject of licence supervision at the time of the burglary.

Stainsby, of no fixed abode, was charged with burglary, which he admitted on the day of his scheduled trial in May.

He returned to Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday (July 1) where he was jailed for two years and three months.

He was also handed a five-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting or approaching the victim.