A CREEPING criminal snuck into a man’s bedroom while he slept – and later stole £9,000 worth of cash and valuables from a family home.

Niaeem Kamran Alam crept into a home on Belfield Road in Accrington during the small hours of the morning and took a phone which had been in the bed alongside the man and £100 from his bedside table. He then helped himself to two shirts and two pairs of jeans as well as some food from the fridge before leaving.

Soon after he struck again, this time targeting a family home on Pelham Street in Blackburn where he took £9,350 worth of gold jewellery and cash, some of which had been donations for charity.

Prosecuting the case at Burnley Crown Court, Lisa Worsley said: “The woman had left her home at around 830am to go to work and came back at 2.45pm to see her patio door blinds were open and the key was in the patio door. She never left the key in the door so thought that strange.

“She checked her bedroom and realised that her jewellery cupboard was open and jewellery was missing.

“She then played back her CCTV and saw an unknown male gaining entrance to her house. She saw him leaving with a black JD bag and a pink safe which contained around £650 that had been taken from her daughter’s bedroom. Additionally, a charity donation box with around £100 in it had gone from the lounge.

“Her gold jewellery which included a bracelet, gold chain, ten rings and two pairs of earrings had an estimated value of £8,000. Around £600 had also been taken from an iPhone box in her second daughter’s room.”

Alam, previously of Kay Street, Darwen, was also sentenced for counts of fraud relating to the use of a bank card he had stolen and assault of an emergency worker.

Judge Andrew Jefferies QC was told that the 28-year-old had thrown a cup of coffee in the face of the custody sergeant who had been working the night he was arrested.

Jailing him for two years and four months, the Judge said: “During one of the burglaries at about 130am you were, there is no doubt about it, in the victim’s bedroom stealing items from their bedroom while they slept. That is a terrible thought.

“At the second burglary you were inside those premises for about an hour and helped yourself to around £9,000 worth of jewellery and cash.”