A burglar who was caught in the act of stealing a BMW car after burgling a house in Warrington has been jailed.
Adam Lamb, of Devonshire Road, Rochdale, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday 3 July, where he was jailed for 30 months. The sentencing comes after Lamb, 23, pleaded guilty to the burglary of a dwelling and taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.
The case began in the early hours of 6 February when, at around 1.20am, Lamb and another man forced entry into an address in the Dam Lane area of Warrington and stole a set of car keys for a BMW.
The men then entered the BMW and proceeded to drive it away from the address, forcibly moving another car with it to get off the drive as they did so. However, as they made their escape, the occupant and owner of the vehicle came to their window and successfully captured the theft taking place on their phone.
The victim subsequently contacted Cheshire Police and, along with providing officers with the footage of the vehicle being stolen, informed them that the BMW was fitted with a tracking device and it was now travelling in the direction of Bolton in Greater Manchester.
Cheshire Police then notified colleagues from Greater Manchester Police (GMP)of the burglary and requested assistance in locating the BMW.
An officer from GMP would later locate the stolen vehicle parked in an alleyway, with two men wearing balaclavas stood around it. Upon being spotted by the officer, the men got back into the vehicle and fled from the scene.
Following a short pursuit, in which the vehicle was exhibited travelling at over 100mph in a 30mph zone, the BMW collided with a parked car and a wall.
The men fled from the vehicle and made off on foot, with them both begin caught and arrested a short time later. Lamb was found in possession of a quantity of cash and the keys to both the BMW and the house it was taken from.
In interview with officers at Runcorn custody, Lamb told them he was not involved in the theft and just so happened to be in the vehicle at the time of the offence, and he had been picked up by another driver.
However, a phone belonging to Lamb that he had dropped following the decampment had been located by officers. Phone data revealed that the device had taken an identical journey to that of the BMW – connecting Lamb to the theft.
Further to this, Crime Scene Investigation officers also successfully identified a footwear mark left in the kitchen on Dam Lane that provided a positive match for the shoe Lamb was wearing at the time of the burglary.
Detective Constable Rebecca Jubb, of CID Proactive North, said: “Burglary is a deeply personal crime and can leave victims feeling unsafe and insecure in their own homes, which is why, when burglars do strike, officers do all they can to achieve justice for victims. In 2025, the force climbed four places and ranked seventh in the country for achieving charges and summons for burglary offenders, meaning we are getting justice for more victims than ever.
“Despite claiming he had no involvement in the crime, the overwhelming amount of evidence that our officers secured left Adam Lamb with no choice but to plead guilty.
“It took officers just 35 minutes from the moment the burglary took place to both suspects being tracked down and brought into police custody.
“It took officers just 35 minutes from the moment the burglary took place to both suspects being tracked down and brought into police custody. This is a great example of cross-border forces coming together with a common goal in mind, and I would like our colleagues from Greater Manchester Police for their assistance.”
