Burglar of home gets caught on CCTV stills

CAUGHT on camera . . . the CCTV stills of the break-in

A FAMILY has released CCTV stills of an offender who broke into their Saddleworth home while they holidayed in Zurich.

Ceara Waterhouse had travelled abroad with husband Paul and their two young children when the burglar smashed through their kitchen window and stole hundreds of pounds worth of personal items.

In a bid to track down the man who targeted their Grasscroft home, Ceara posted images from their exterior CCTV camera which have been shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook.

Ceara said: "The images show the 'gentleman' responsible for giving my children nightmares and leaving them feeling unsafe in their own home.

"Several people contacted us after we posted the photos and we passed that information straight to the police, but they have just sat on it because they have limited resources.

"The longer it takes, the more time it gives him."

The family travelled to Zurich on Wednesday, July 26, where Paul was taking part in a triathlon competition.

Their house was burgled at 8pm that Saturday, but it was only discovered on Monday, July 31 when Ceara's mum arrived to change the beds and found the rear door wide open and the house ransacked.

Ceara said: "We still had another two weeks away but all we could think about was what the house looked like. We were tempted to cut the holiday short but stuck it out.

"Upon our return my husband checked our CCTV and we have crystal clear images of the crime being committed. We know he was inside for 30 minutes and made off in a getaway car.

"He had been in every room and every drawer. The place had been upturned."

There were two PlayStations, four laptops, watches, jewellery and cash stolen during the raid.

But the theft Ceara was most "frustrated" about was her work laptop, which contained planning material for her job as a teacher at Blue Coat School.

She said: "Most things are replaceable but I'm going to have to re-do hours of work.

"Our son is upset about several of his PlayStation games being stolen. He has made a list of all the ones he's missing.

"We were angry when it happened. You work hard to afford a holiday and then you go away and this happens."

Greater Manchester Police have been approached for comment.