Burglars in Tameside are increasingly being brought to justice by a newly created policing team tackling thieves across the borough.

Greater Manchester Police's Serious Acquisitive Crime Team, established in November last year and based in Ashton, has overseen a string of convictions concerning high-profile offenders seeing them jailed for dozens of years between them.

Since the inception of the SACT, 150 suspected burglars and robbers have been arrested - and more suspects are being prosecuted and brought before the courts.

The increase in enforcement across Tameside is coupled with the force-wide pledge under Operation Castle that every report of household burglary will have an officer physically attend and ensure that all reasonable lines of enquiry are pursued.

GMP say its response is currently beyond 90 per cent of incidents across Greater Manchester and it is "committed to ensuring that number is sustained and improved so that more and more offenders are being brought to book for this invasive and ruinous crime". 

In Tameside, notable perpetrators put behind bars include Lewis Muir, 18, from the Crumpsall area of Manchester, who was ordered to serve at least four years in jail for conspiracy to burgle after a series of 15 high-powered vehicles were stolen spanning across Oldham, Rochdale, Manchester and Tameside.

Daniel O'Donnell, 30, was jailed in December 2021 after being snared thanks to DNA evidence following a theft of £9,000 from a vulnerable woman when he was posing as a gardener. He's now serving a five-year sentence.

Christopher Hurn, 28, who also targeted vulnerable people, was jailed in September last year for nine years for two robberies which saw one of his victims suffer a broken leg. 

Two other notable offenders - Elliot Foster (24), from Stalybridge, and Cody Lowndes (23), from Ashton-Under-Lyne - were sentenced to a combined total of nearly a dozen years after both being involved in the handling of stolen goods relating to high-powered stolen vehicles that were being put on sale on social media.

GMP say the SACT continue to tackle offenders targeting incident people and homes across Tameside, and encourage anyone with information to report it to police - knowing that information could prove vital in enhancing intelligence, shaping patrol plans, and forming an evidential picture for known suspects.

Information can be reported online via the GMP website, or by calling 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency. Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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