Britain's 'dopiest burglar' is caught red-handed after staring straight into a Ring doorbell camera

Daily Mail​

17 hours ago

Britain's 'dopiest burglar' was caught red-handed after staring straight into a Ring doorbell camera and leaving his own mobile phone at the scene.
Ashley Whitehouse, 42, was filmed looking straight into the lens outside a house in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, on March 23.
The bungling crook was then chased from the property by a couple who were awoken by the intruder at around 8am.
He had walked into their bedroom but fled the address following an 'altercation', Nottinghamshire Police said.
CCTV also captured Whitehouse hurling rocks at the homeowner as he ran away from the scene of the break-in on Wingfield Avenue.
A court heard Whitehouse continued to threaten the victims and threw a paving slab through their car window.
He also lobbed stones and bricks from a nearby garden at the man before hitting him in the stomach with a large stick.
The victims later discovered their kitchen had been ransacked and a purse containing a bank card had been stolen.
A mobile phone was also recovered from a plant pot by the front door and officers were able to identify it as Whitehouse's device.
He was arrested at his home just two hours later and while being detained headbutted an officer who was left with an injury to her ear.
Whitehouse, of Worksop, pleaded guilty to burglary, criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was jailed for two years and 11 months at Nottingham Crown Court today.
Detective Constable Amy McMillan, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'It will have been a frightening experience for the victims to be awoken by an intruder and then come face to face with a masked man inside their home.
'Burglary is an offence which can have a deep and lasting impact on those affected.
'This is why preventing break-ins and bringing burglars to justice is a priority for the force.
'Whitehouse reacted violently to being disturbed and continued his aggressive behaviour by hurling bricks at the victim as he fled and assaulting him.
'When officers tracked him down a short time later he responded by headbutting an officer who was simply doing her job.
'As a force we will not tolerate attacks on officers. Being assaulted and injured while on duty is not part of the job description and never will be.'