A woman was left shaken after being woken when a burglar broke into her house in the early hours of this morning before making off with her car after stealing her keys.
The woman disturbed the burglar around 1.30am after being awoken by a noise in her Gordon Road home in West Bridgford.
She confronted the balaclava wearing intruder standing in the kitchen, after making her way downstairs to investigate.
On seeing the homeowner he grabbed items from the worktop, including her car keys, before darting through the back door and making off in her vehicle parked outside.
The car activated a nearby ANPR camera as it travelled towards the Sneinton area. It was found abandoned a short time later just off Newark Crescent with none of the stolen items in it. A suspect matching the description of the thief was later arrested nearby.
Following investigations officers also arrested the suspect for a further two attempted burglaries – one in Blake Road, West Bridgford, carried out just hours earlier – just before 11pm on Friday night, and another in Westwood Road, Sneinton, also carried out on September 10.
A suspect is believed to have gained entry into the unoccupied Blake Road home, but security systems alerted the homeowner to the presence of an intruder.
Officers arrived swiftly and managed to disturb the intruder, who was inside the home wearing a balaclava. He then leapt out of the house through an open window and made off through adjoining gardens. A search was conducted but officers were unable to locate the suspect at that time.
The Westwood Road burglary is alleged to have happened around 12.30pm, while the homeowner was at work. They arrived back to find their home had been broken into through the back door.
The suspect has also been arrested for possession of a controlled substance after an amount of cannabis was found.
Detective Sergeant John Kerry of Nottinghamshire Police said: “The quick response from our officers has led to an arrest of a suspect for all of these incidents.
“We want to reassure the residents of Nottinghamshire that we take burglary very seriously. Officers regularly patrol residential areas to help catch these would be criminals in the act.
“This type of crime causes lots of disruption to those affected, which has an emotional impact not just a physical one in terms of the loss of property.”
