Halifax burglar jailed again after his GPS tracker "tag" put him at scene of raid

Halifax man Dean Sherratt, 25, was locked up again for night-time attacks on two occupied properties after a judge heard how he had also left a drinks can with his DNA on it at the scene of another burglary.

Prosecutor Paul Nicholson told the court how a mother was woken at her home in Ravenstone Drive, Elland, in the early hours and saw someone crouched in her bedroom.

Sherratt, who was later linked to that offence by the DNA on the drinks can, went on to burgle another home in Rochdale Road, Greetland, while a couple were sat in their living room.

He said Sherratt had willingly submitted to a scheme in which a tag was fitted to his ankle for the police to keep track of him and it showed him in the immediate vicinity at the time of the burglary.

Sherratt pleaded guilty today to two burglary charges and the Recorder of Bradford Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC sentenced him to 876 days in jail under the so-called three strikes legislation.

Mr Walker conceded that Sherratt must have been under the influence of something at the time of the burglaries because he had very little memory of the events.

"He has written a letter which I have to say is extremely lucid expressing his true sorrow and regret for the distress and upset he has caused his victims," said Mr Walker.

He said Sherratt had been working with the drug and alcohol recovery team while on remand in HMP Leeds.

Judge Durham Hall explained that Sherratt faced a minimum jail term of three years for the burglaries but his guilty pleas meant it could be reduced to 876 days.

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