Judge jails burglar for terrifying break-in at home of pensioner, 85

A burglar terrified an elderly pensioner by breaking in and ransacking her home as she had been getting ready for bed – before fleeing with nothing more than a box of envelopes.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th May 2014, 19:13 BST

Abdul Ghafoor, 39, squeezed through the window of the 85-year-old’s sheltered home in Crossley Almshouses in Halifax, before demanding her keys and locking the front door.

Bradford Crown Court heard the woman managed to pull an emergency cord during the burglary before fleeing to her bedroom while Ghafoor raided her home.

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Richard Davies, prosecuting, said she was eventually able to escape and seek help from a friend nearby, and the thief was later seen running away from the scene. Appearing on a video link from HMP Leeds, Ghafoor, of Hanson Lane, Halifax, was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to burglary.

Judge Jonathan Rose also jailed him for a further four months after hearing he was in breach of an existing community order for snatching a bag from a car.

Judge Jonathan Rose said that Ghafoor should be ashamed because his behaviour was ‘disgusting’.

Rachim Singh, defending, conceded that it was a very serious offence, but submitted that his client had not deliberately targeted an elderly person’s home.