TWO thugs from Winsford and Middlewich have been jailed following a crime spree across the area.

It began when Tyler Kerr entered the house of a 67-year-old man he knows in Seddon Street as the victim slept between 11am and midnight on Friday, June 21.

The 21-year-old then assaulted the victim and stole some of his belongings.

He fled in the victim’s car parked outside after taking his keys.

Kerr returned the car undamaged several hours later but took it again after breaking into the victim’s home as he slept at around 10.45pm on Tuesday, June 25.

The following morning a member of the public reported finding the car with front end damage and the keys in the ignition a short distance away from the victim’s home.

The report led to the police becoming aware of Kerr’s offending and attempts were made to locate and arrest him.

Aware that the police were looking for him, Kerr then stole a fishing rod from a 22-year-old man from Middlewich who was fishing near Lewin Street shortly after 9.30pm on Thursday, June 27.

When the victim requested his fishing rod back he was threatened by a friend of Kerr’s, Liam Vincent.

The 18-year-old pulled a flick knife out of his pocket and moved towards the victim with it in a threatening manner.

As the victim ran away Kerr and Vincent spent a few minutes fishing with the stolen rod before heading to a Shell garage on the A54 Holmes Chapel Road.

Once inside the petrol station Kerr lit a cigarette.

When a petrol station worker told him that he was not allowed to smoke there he jumped over the counter and stole a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of vodka. The pair then fled the scene.

Officers looking for Kerr and Vincent arrested them both in West Avenue, Middlewich, later that night.

Whilst in the back of a police car Kerr spat on an officer who had opened one of its doors to speak to him.

Kerr, of High Street in Winsford, was subsequently charged with robbery, burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, taking a motor vehicle without consent, theft and assaulting an emergency service worker.

Vincent, of Long Lane, Middlewich, was charged with threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place and breaching a Criminal Behavior Order (CB0).

The pair pleaded guilty to their respective charges and were sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, August 13.

Kerr was jailed for nine years and one month and Vincent was sentenced to 15 months in a young offenders’ institute.

Detective Constable Kieran Heathcote, who led the investigation into the crime spree, said: “Kerr, and to a lesser extent Vincent, acted as though the law does not apply to them, committing several offences between them in a short period of time.

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“I am delighted that they have now been brought to justice.

“This case and the sentences imposed by Chester Crown Court highlights how seriously the police and the criminal justice system treats offenders who act with such disregard for the law.

“I hope that the sentences handed out brings closure for the victims of this case and deters others from committing such offences.

“Kerr and Vincent will have plenty of time to reflect on the consequences of their actions and the streets of Middlewich will be safer in their absence.”