Burglar in Bradford rooftop stand-off is jailed (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Man told he ‘wasted great deal of public money’ after police helicopter was called

8:00am Saturday 6th October 2012 in News By Dolores Cowburn, Bradford Chief Reporter

A burglar has been jailed after the police helicopter was called in to deal with a rooftop stand-off with officers.

Judge Jonathan Rose told Akbar Khan that his behaviour had tied up valuable resources and cost the public purse a great deal of money.

An alert neighbour contacted the police after seeing Khan use a crowbar or a hammer to force his way into the basement of a house in Cumberland Road, Bradford, last month.

Officers, including a dog handler, responded to the early hours break-in and their attempts to get the 23-year-old to come out woke the householder.

But prosecutor Deborah Smithies told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that Khan refused to give himself up and instead made his way up into the attic of the property from where he then emerged onto the roof.

Miss Smithies said Khan was standing on the roof shouting obscenities at the police for an hour or so and he also made attempts to get into adjoining properties.

She said the police force helicopter was deployed to observe the scene before officers succeeded in talking Khan down from the roof.

The court heard that Khan, who also lived on Cumberland Road, continued to be aggressive and abusive to officers after his arrest.

Although nothing was stolen in the break-in Khan had caused damage which was likely to cost about £1,000 to repair.

After his arrest Khan said he had drunk a lot of vodka and claimed he was looking for somewhere else to sleep that night because his father would have disapproved of his drinking.

Miss Smithies said Khan claimed to have panicked because he was already on prison licence for burglary at the time.

Barrister Giles Bridge, for Khan, said his client had been released for custody in March and things were progressing reasonably well until two family deaths triggered his return to drugs and alcohol.

Mr Bridge revealed that one of Khan’s uncles had died from cancer, but the other had been murdered in Pakistan.

“He recognises that given the strains his family is under at the present time his actions have made matters worse particularly for his mother,” conceded Mr Bridge.

Judge Rose said the police helicopter could have been better used elsewhere and added: “The exercise will have cost, I have no doubt, the public purse a great deal of money. You stayed there for an hour tying up valuable resources.”

Judge Rose sentenced Khan to two years and nine months in prison for the burglary and warned him that any further house burglary offences would attract a minimum sentence of three years.