William Gridley, 39, broke into an address on Melbourne Avenue on Saturday 3 December 2022 and stole electrical equipment and cash, along with other items.

A witness saw Gridley, who went to and from the property to steal items several times during the burglary and alerted Kent Police.

Officers attended and, after Gridley was identified, went to the offender’s home and arrested him.

Equipment that Gridley had stolen, including a television, was recovered and the following day, officers seized further items that he’d taken.

Gridley, of Colton Crescent, was later charged and, despite bail conditions forbidding him from approaching his victim, who was known to him, made attempts to do so on multiple occasions whilst awaiting court hearings.

After pleading guilty to the burglary, Gridley was sentenced to two years and one month in prison on Friday 19 April 2024 at Canterbury Crown Court.

Gridley was also issued a five-year restraining order prohibiting him from any contact with the victim.

Detective Constable Isobelle Webster-Kell said: ‘Gridley carried out this criminality without any care for the devastating physical and mental impact it would have on the victim. Since committing the burglary, he has pestered and threatened his victim and demonstrated a total disregard for any court-imposed conditions placed upon him.

‘Gridley’s custodial sentence is wholly deserved and I hope that now he is serving time for his actions, it provides a sense of justice to the victim.’