Grantham man jailed at Lincoln Crown Court for terrifying family during burglary days before Christmas

A man who forced his way into a family home and ransacked it during a burglary while children hid with their parents in a bedroom has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The family were at home in the Harrowby estate area in Grantham when there was banging on the front door just after 5.30pm on December 19.

Opening the door in the darkness, a man living at the house was confronted with masked men who tried to force their way in. Managing to shut the door with the help of another man at the house, they, along with the rest of the family, ran upstairs while calling 999 and barricaded themselves in a bedroom by pushing a chest of drawers against the door.

Then they heard the sound of glass smashing, which was their back door. It was followed by kicks to the bedroom door, and a hole was made in it, while the woman and boy pushed their weight against the drawers to keep the door closed, relaying what had unfolded in a matter of minutes to call takers in Lincolnshire Police’s Force Control Room who had dispatched officers.

They heard more banging before it went quiet, and came out after police, who had arrived on scene and searched the property, told them it was safe to do so.

This is when they saw the damage. Blood was smeared on the walls down the stairs and outside the bedroom, there was a hole in the bedroom door, the banister had been ripped from the wall, and there was blood in the hallway. The kitchen had been ransacked. Christmas bauble decorations had been thrown on the floor and smashed.

The glass in the back door had been smashed and there was glass on the floor, drawers had been pulled out, and there was cutlery on the floor. Polyfilla powder had also been tipped all over the floor, along with crisps and cakes. There was a trail of these crisps and cakes that led to the back gate.

These cakes and crisps were everything that 21-year-old Blake Searle stole.

Lincolnshire Police crime scene investigators found two blood splatters at the scene, one which was furthest away from the back door and one which was found on a wall outside the bedroom where the family were hiding. The blood was sent for forensic testing and confirmed to be Searle’s, tying him to the burglary.

He was arrested and interviewed on January 14.

Detective Constable Kirsty Farrar said: “This man went on a rampage at that home, causing chaos and fear just six days before Christmas. It’s hard to imagine how frightening it would be to be subjected to that kind of intrusion.

“Searle pleaded guilty because there was overwhelming evidence against him. His actions show what a risk he posed to the public, and I am glad he’s off the streets. It was a massive team effort from everyone involved, with very long hours to secure a remand after his arrest, followed by several months of additional work to make it to court.”

Searle, of no fixed address from the Grantham area, was charged with burglary and theft and was sentenced to four years in prison at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday last week (June 13). He has also been given a restraining order.

He was also convicted of driving whilst disqualified, and failing to stop, both of which happened on December 6. In that incident, an officer on patrol in an unmarked car spotted Searle driving in Welham Street at around 11.20am.

That officer knew he had been disqualified from driving and called for assistance from a marked unit, and Searle was signalled to stop, but instead made off at speed. He was later located and charged, and has been disqualified for a further 18 months.