Two men sent to prison for Horsham burglary

Timothy Whewell, 24, and Kevin Callow, 31, received two and four years respectively after pleading guilty to the burglary at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday (March 21).

The court heard that Whewell and Callow both from Wimbledon, were career burglars with serious gambling addictions and targeted large detached homes across London and the South East to fund their habit.

Detective Constable Andy Robinson who led the Sussex end of the investigation said: “I am pleased that both men will be jailed for a considerable amount of time. Burglary has a real detrimental effect on victim’s lives and with Callow having a £7,000 a day gambling addiction it was unlikely that the pair of them would have stopped their criminal activity any time soon.

“I would like to thank my colleagues at Hampshire police who assisted us when a stolen Mercedes car from the Rusper Road burglary was abandoned in Hampshire on 20 August. Several Hampshire police units were involved in following the car and the subsequent arrest of Whewell.”

The burglary in Rusper Road occurred when the owners were away on holiday.

Police were notified by the cleaner who saw a broken window at around 8am on 20 August. The stolen Mercedes was then caught on camera leaving Horsham within 30 minutes of the reported break-in.

Cash and jewellery were also stolen but were never recovered.

In court both defendants admitted to carrying out over 50 burglaries mainly in Surrey and London over the last two-three years.

They also admitted to another burglary in Rusper Road on 18 August, where car keys and cash were stolen.