Aaron Smethurst is second burglar jailed for £7,000 raid on Gosport flat

Curtis Coombes, 34, formerly of South Street in Gosport, was jailed 27 months two weeks ago for the crime.

Now Aaron Smethurst, 36 years, formerly of Bemisters Lane in Gosport, has been given a 29-month sentence at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The flat, in Minnitt Road, was entered between 2.20pm and 2.30pm on November 1 last year. Cash, jewellery, designer handbags, an iPad and a mobile phone were among the items taken.

Coombes and Smethurst admitted burglary when they appeared at crown court on December 14.

Coombes was handed 26 months for the burglary and an additional four weeks as the offence took place while he was serving a suspended sentence for unrelated matters.

As part of this investigation, a 27-year-old woman from Gosport was given a conditional caution for obstructing police.

Detective Sergeant Deborah Mason from Hampshire police’s Operation Hawk team, which takes on crime needing specialist investigation, said: ‘This was a high-value burglary in which the culprits brazenly searched a flat in the middle of the day to steal anything they could get their hands on.

‘I hope the hard work of our officers, and the subsequent convictions of the suspects through the courts, reassures the community that we are committed to tackling those who offend in this way and we will bring them to justice.’