Two men who meticulously planned the burglary of a house by scoping the property out, stealing more than £40,000 worth of World War Two memorabilia as well as sentimental items of jewellery, have been jailed.

Ian Carr, 47 and Brett Makinson, 56, conspired to burgle the cottage, in Sandy Lane, Brindle, in August 2020.

Preston Crown Court heard how two weeks before the burglary, Carr, previously of Pilmuir Road, Blackburn, was spotted loitering in the garden of the property, peering through the windows.

Then on August 4, Carr and Makinson, of Sulby Road, Blackburn, waited until the occupants had left to go shopping and broke in, ransacking the property.

They stole a World War Two machine gun, two pistols, daggers, watches and other high value items, worth a total of £40,800.

Prosecuting, Clare Thomas said following the break-in, several of the World War Two items were sold-on to auction houses, including the pistols and machine guns, with the daggers being shipped to a collector in Canada.

Ms Thomas told the court the daughter of victim, Mr Cheetham, who was himself a collector, carried out thorough investigations and began trying to immediately track the items, with the guns and daggers eventually recovered, albeit not in their original condition.

None of the sentimental jewellery, which belonged to Mr Cheetham’s late wife has been recovered, which has had a devastating impact on him and his family – particularly his teenage son.

Preston Crown Court was told Carr and Makinson’s offending further affected their victims when the Cheethams discovered Makinson, who had been thought of as a friend of the family, had been involved in the burglary.

Ms Thomas said in the days following the incident, Mr Cheetham even approached Makinson, who was at the time working at Samlesbury Hall, to see if he had heard anything about the stolen items, as the men had often helped each other out when attending antiques fairs to purchase war memorabilia.

Makinson had also in the past been invited into the family home for drinks – although the court heard the Cheethams now believed his presence in their house had been a catalyst for the burglary when he saw the collection of high value items they possessed.

Makinson and Carr were later arrested, with Carr being identified by Mr Cheetham’s son as the man seen loitering in their garden weeks before.

They both denied their involvement, with Makinson claiming he had been approached by a homeless Carr who had offered to sell him some of the items so he could pay for food and accommodation.

But officers found regular telephone communications between the pair and traced Carr’s phone to the area surrounding the victim’s property on the day of the burglary.

They also discovered emails which had been sent by Makinson to auction houses and antiques dealers across the country and beyond, attempting to sell the war memorabilia, stating he had come into possession of the items after an elderly relative died.

Carr pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and possession of criminal property on day two of a trial in June, while Makinson, who failed to attend the trial after he flew to Ukraine to help in the war effort and claimed he could not get back in time to attend the hearing as he was stuck in an underground bunker, only pleaded guilty once informed of Carr’s plea change.

Sentencing the two men, Recorder Daniel Lister said: “It’s clear from the communication between you both that the property was targeted and you knew the type of items you were stealing.

“After the burglary you were both engaged in the sale of these items and it’s clear from the victim personal statement that you, Makinson, knew the family and knew the items that were within the home, and you violated your relationship with that family.

“Some of the items have been recovered but those are now damaged.

“Mr Cheetham’s daughter is devastated about the intrusion of what she considers to be her family home, as well as the violation of your relationship with her father.

"She worked hard to recover the items and says they were worth more to the family than their actual financial value.

“Mr Cheetham has become anxious and is hurt that someone he considered to be a friend has caused him this pain.

“While his partner has described the devastating affect this has had on them and Mr Cheetham’s teenage son.

“It’s a mark of the impact of your offending that they have attended court today and I express gratitude to them for assisting in this process by setting out quite clearly the real hurt caused by your behaviour.”

Makinson, of Sulby Road, Blackburn, who has nine convictions for 19 offences received two years and three months in jail.

Addressing Carr, who was also being sentenced for robbery, false imprisonment and fraud, which he committed some 15 months after this burglary incident, Recorder Lister said: “Carr, you took this offence to trial and on day two ended up pleading guilty to burglary and possession of criminal property.

“You are a dangerous individual and there’s a significant risk of you doing serious harm to others.”

Carr, previously of Pilmuir Road, Blackburn, has 29 convictions for 103 offences, including two lengthy prison sentences for causing death by dangerous driving in 1991 and 2003, as well as multiple burglaries and theft offences.

He was handed two years and nine months in jail for the burglary, as well as 11 years, with three years on extended licence upon release, for the robbery, fraud and false imprisonment offences, to run consecutively for a total of 13 years and nine months.