A Scarborough man has been jailed for four years for a house burglary in which he was physically confronted by the homeowner.
A small drop of the injured suspect’s blood was recovered from inside the property by Crime Scene Investigators with support from attending Response officers, which led to his arrest and helped to secure the conviction at court.
Paul Ludford, 53, currently residing in HMP Lincoln but formerly of the town’s Falsgrave Road, was sentenced at York Crown Court on Wednesday (18 September 2024) after being found guilty at the conclusion of a three-day trial.
The incident happened at around 8.30pm on Saturday 9 March 2024 when the homeowner heard his dogs barking downstairs.
He was shocked to find Ludford standing in his hallway. He shouted for him to leave the property but Ludford refused.
The homeowner told the court that Ludford made threats to him, stating he was “packing” a knife.
He then reacted in self-defence by punching Ludford in the face causing swelling to his eyes and a small amount of bleeding.
A scuffle started between the men and the homeowner was able push Ludford out of the house before calling the police at 8.46pm. The victim suffered an injured wrist during the ordeal.
As Ludford made off empty handed, he threatened to shoot the man’s dogs.
When the forensic test results came back, they were able to place Ludford at the scene of the crime – as a prolific offender, his DNA was already well-recorded on the police database.
He was arrested on 31 March and brought into custody for questioning.
During police interview and again at court, Ludford denied that he intended to burgle the property, saying he was doing a good deed by putting the man’s barking dogs back inside.
He even claimed that it was the homeowner who had dragged him inside the property to attack him.
Detective Constable Nick Burton, from Scarborugh CID, led the investigation.
He said:
“The jury rightly saw straight through Ludford’s cock and bull story and delivered a guilty verdict.
“It is also pleasing that he has been handed a significant custodial sentence for what he put the brave homeowner through.
“Thanks to the great work by the Response officers and Crime Scene Investigators that evening, we were able to piece together the key evidence to bring Ludford to justice.”
Ludford was also given a five-year restraining order not to contact the victim and keep away from his house.
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