A prolific criminal considered “a real menace” to residents in parts of a city is behind bars after police teams combined to have him arrested, charged and put before court. 

David Cheetham plagued parts of Newcastle in recent weeks, carrying out a string of crimes during the early hours, particularly in late August and early September.

His offences included burglaries and attempted burglaries at properties in the Walker and High Heaton areas, a theft from a vehicle and several other vehicle interference incidents.

They included the 33-year-old offender brazenly taking a bottle of whisky from a summer house, while, on another occasion, he stole a drill and several bottles of wine from a garage building.

(Image: Northumbria Police)

Northumbria Police’s Newcastle neighbourhood, fast response and high-impact crime teams joined forces to collate intelligence on Cheetham, which led to his arrest on September 3.

Further inquiries led to him being charged with four offences of burglary, seven counts of vehicle interference and one of theft from a motor vehicle.

The defendant, of no fixed address, admitted all the charges when he subsequently appeared at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court, where he went on to receive a six-month prison sentence.

(Image: Northumbria Police)

After the sentence was imposed, Inspector Anita Morgan, of Northumbria Police, said: “This was superb policing from our teams to trace Cheetham, arrest him and then get him charged to be put before court the following day.

“He has been a real menace to the Newcastle communities my team serve in recent weeks and it is only right that he is now behind bars having admitted a series of offences.

“Following joined up working across different teams we were able to pull together a strong case against Cheetham and he then pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.”

(Image: The Northern Echo)

Insp Morgan added: “We hope this case serves as a warning to anyone who is thinking of targeting homes and vehicles to burgle that we are determined to fully investigate every report and bring those responsible to justice.

“Burglary is an invasive crime which can quite often have a last impact on victims and it is something we will simply not tolerate.

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“As always, we would continue to ask those in our communities to get in touch if you see anybody acting suspiciously in your area, as this helps us to build on our intelligence picture and identify offenders.”

Anyone who sees something suspicious in their area can send Northumbria Police a direct message on social media or use either the live chat function or the report forms, on the force website.

For those unable to contact the force via those ways, they should call 101, while, in an emergency, or if a crime is taking place, 999 should be used.