A burglar who tried unsuccessfully to squeeze through a cat flap is today beginning a five-year prison sentence.

Richard Barham stuck his arm through the pet-sized opening in an effort to get inside the Rainham property but eventually gave up.

The owner came home to find the cat flap had been broken.

Undettered the 35-year-old, of Rainham High Street, went on to commit two more burglaries.
The first unsuccessful break-in happened in The Willows on Friday, October 12. Eight days later Barham attempted to burgle a home in Moor Street, Rainham.

The victim left their home to make a brief visit to a nearby shop. They returned after 30 minutes and noticed the back door handle was at an unusual angle.

A second door had also been damaged and they had to climb onto their balcony to gain entry to their property.

As they were going inside, they saw Barham on their driveway and called out to him.

Barham claimed he had just knocked on the door to ask if any rubbish needed clearing and the victim was able to take a picture of him on their mobile phone before he fled. This image would eventually lead to his arrest.

Barham also burgled a home in Second Avenue, Gillingham, on Thursday, October 18.

He forced open patio doors and stole two games consoles, four smartphones and a large amount of high value jewellery, including a luxury watch and a gold engagement ring.

He cut himself during the break in and a small amount of blood was found on the draw of a bedside cabinet.

Barham pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court today.

Detective Constable Dan Bister said: "Barham is a repeat burglar and I have little doubt that if he wasn’t arrested when he was, he would have continued to target innocent members of the public.

"The quality of evidence we were able to present to the court meant he had no choice but to plead guilty and the sentence he has received is entirely justified.’

The court heard Barham had 33 previous convictions for 55 offences, including numerous burglaries. He was jailed for 12 months in 2003, two-and-a-half years in 2006 and three years and three months in July 2015.