Burglar Caught With Arm In Window Says "I'm The Window Cleaner.''

Birmingham Crown Court: ‘I’m the window cleaner’, but the owner was a bit dubious and said ‘no you’re not’. The defendant said, ‘I am - my ladder and bucket are downstairs’.

Selly Oak burglar caught with arm in window told homeowner: "I'm the window cleaner.'' - A serial burglar pretended to be a window cleaner after he was caught balancing on a ledge with his arm through the window of a Birmingham house. Dennis Stanfield, 29, was confronted by the householder in Frederick Road, Selly Oak, as he attempted to get into the property. But the cheeky crook, who has four previous convictions for burglary, said: “I’m the window cleaner, my ladder and bucket are downstairs.”

Before police could arrive he fled but was later picked out of an identity parade after being arrested for an attempted burglary days later. Stanfield, of Sheldon Heath Road, Sheldon, was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to burglary and attempted burglary when he appeared at Birmingham Crown Court. He asked for two other attempted burglaries to be taken into consideration

The dad-of-one cried in the dock as it was heard he committed the crimes after slipping back into a long-standing drug habit. His Honour Judge Murray Creed said: “I am told there were serious drug issues in your past but you attempted to turn a corner. Unfortunately, you were drawn back into those ways.”

Christopher Lester, prosecuting, said the Frederick Road homeowner heard a noise coming from a back bedroom on August 28. When he went to look, Stanfield was balancing on an outside ledge with his arm through a top window, trying to open a larger window. Mr Lester said: “He (Stanfield) said, ‘I’m the window cleaner’, but the owner was a bit dubious and said ‘no you’re not’. The defendant said, ‘I am - my ladder and bucket are downstairs’. “The owner went downstairs to check but by the time he got there the man was gone.”

Five days later an elderly woman rumbled Stanfield as he tried to force a window with a hammer at her Selly Oak home. On that occasion he was spotted on CCTV and recognised by police. Theresa Hunt, defending, said the birth of his child, a plumbing apprenticeship and stable relationship had helped him stay off drugs. But after a methadone prescription mix-up in August he fell off the wagon. She said: “He deserves to serve the minimum three years but it will be a huge loss to him. He says he is devastated but he remains determined, once released, to continue the hard work he has put in place.” Dennis Stanfield, 29, wept in the dock as he was jailed for three years. 

Dennis Stanfield, 29, was confronted by the property's owner as he tried to get in through a bedroom window. Pictured in circle the law-courts with the intended location of burglary in background.