Cambridge burglar stole more than £25,000 of jewellery after drinking brandy and taking medication

A Cambridge man admitted going on a burglary spree after drinking a bottle of brandy and taking prescribed medication.

Nicholas Gallagher, 50, of Elizabeth Way, Cambridge, said when he sobered up he found jewellery, cameras and a carriage clock in his possession.

A court heard he smashed through the glass panel of a front door in Queen Edith’s Way on October 21, 2021, and took jewellery of sentimental value, the clock, worth £1,000, and three kitchen knives.

He then smashed patio doors of a Beaumont Road home and took £25,000 of jewellery and other items. He left the stolen knives and his blood stains in one of the bedrooms.

Forensics linked Gallagher’s DNA to the scene and he was tracked down on October 15 to a bed and breakfast in Great Yarmouth where he was arrested.

Officers recovered a backpack containing some of the stolen items from Beaumont Road.

Gallagher admitted both burglaries and told detectives which shops he had pawned the jewellery to and where he had abandoned other items.

He also admitted two further burglaries on October 10 in Shelford Road, Cambridge, and Southwell Drive, Trumpington, and an attempted burglary in Whittle Avenue, Trumpington.

At Cambridge Crown Court last Friday, he was sentenced to four years in prison after previously pleading guilty to two counts of burglary and having an article with a blade or point.

Detective Constable Paul Stevens, from the burglary team, said: “Gallagher admitted all of the offences at the first opportunity and showed sincere remorse for his actions, even trying to help us recover the stolen property.

“However, this doesn’t make up for his actions. Burglary is an abhorrent invasion of privacy, with offenders often showing total disregard for sentimental items that not only hold huge significance and emotional attachment by their owners but are also irreplaceable by their very nature. These items are people’s memories, life stories and reminders of loved ones, for which no amount of insurance money or criminal justice can replace.”

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