Armed raiders hold up Sheffield family - proceeds found in drunk’s van

A TERRIFIED family of four were held up by armed masked robbers in their own home, a court heard.
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Stephen Foster was in his conservatory when his pregnant wife shouted for help in the kitchen.

He rushed in to find his wife and two children being threatened by a masked man holding a knife.

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Two other intruders had gone upstairs and the robber said he would “slit their throats” if the family moved.

Four television sets, two mobile phones, Xbox games and jewellery worth £2,100 were stolen in the raid at High Green, Sheffield.

Keys to the family’s Hyundai car and a van worth £12,000 were also stolen, said Michael Smith, prosecuting, at Sheffield Crown Court.

The story emerged when Matthew Fothergill, 31, was found four hours later at 12.30am in nearby Shiregreen.

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He was slumped across the front seat of the van with the items stolen in the burglary in the back.

He gave a positive reading for alcohol and told police he could not remember where he got the property.

Fothergill, of Sycamore Road, Ecclesfield, Sheffield, admitted handling stolen goods on November 25 last year and drink-driving.

The court heard he had several previous convictions for dangerous driving, handling stolen goods and supplying class A drugs.

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Judge Roger Keen said Fothergill had tried to put his old lifestyle behind him but he had not been completely successful.

He had committed the second handling offence while on bail for the first.

“Three masked men forced their way into a house at night, armed and committed the equivalent of an armed robbery,” said the judge. “Within four hours some of the property was in your possession in a vehicle which was close to the offences committed.”

Fothergill was jailed for three years and banned from driving for two years. The court was not told what happened to the three masked burglars.

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