Taxi Driver Turned Sleuth To Catch Burglars
15 August 2009
A taxi driver turned detective to snare a gang of heroin addicts who burgled his neighbour's home.
Brazen burglars Shaun Wanless, Daniel Flood and Mandy Fellows thought they had got away with it when they tried to smuggle a TV and laptop under a duvet they also stole from their victim. They even called a taxi to take away their haul.
But they didn't count on amateur sleuth John Wagstaff when they burgled Donna Elliot's house in Harton Lane, South Shields, on March 6 this year.
Mr Wagstaff called police when he saw the three acting suspiciously, but officers were busy dealing with the shooting of an eight-year-old boy at a travellers' site in West Boldon.
That prompted Mr Wagstaff to ring the taxi company the burglars used, identify their destination and tell the police.
The police found the three defendants together with a stolen television worth £550 and a laptop computer worth £150.
Today, Miss Elliot thanked Mr Wagstaff for helping bring the raiders to justice.
Wanless, 44, of Devonshire Street, South Shields, and Flood, 30, of Boldon Lane, South Shields, were each jailed for 18 months at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday.
Fellows, 34, of Wilberforce Street, Jarrow, was given a community order for 12 months, after they all pleaded guilty to house burglary.
Mr Wagstaff said today: "I was playing on the Nintendo Wii with my family when I spotted the two of them in the front garden of the house next door, with Mandy keeping a lookout.
"They're well known round here, so I was suspicious straight away.
"I called the police, but the burglary happened on the same day the young lad had been shot on the travellers' site up at Boldon, so the response wasn't very quick."
Miss Elliot, a 29-year-old student, said: "I'm so grateful to Mr Wagstaff.
"If it wasn't for him being a good neighbour and looking out for me, these three would never have been caught.
"My two kids were so upset after the burglary. They felt like their privacy had been invaded.
"South Tyneside Homes even moved us up the list for re-homing afterwards because it had affected them so much."
The family now live elsewhere in the borough.
Prosecutor Roger Moore told the court that Miss Elliot was known to both Wanless and Flood.
Of Mr Wagstaff, he told the court: "He kept in touch with the police on the phone as the matter was unfolding.
"Because of the efforts of the neighbour, police were able to go straight away to the final destination of the three defendants."
Source; ShieldsGazette.com
Login
Register
FAQ
