Bassingbourn: Machete-wielding masked burglar jailed

Nathan Smith, 33, of Old North Road, Whaddon, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary following the incident in Bassingbourn on November 21 last year.

Nathan Smith (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)

Wearing a balaclava and gloves and brandishing a machete, Smith smashed the windscreen of a Peugeot van parked in Cambridge Crescent at around 2.40am.

Smith, who was highly intoxicated, then barged his way through a garden gate and walked up the path to a side door.

He smashed the glass while demanding that the occupants hand over money.

Damage to the van (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)

While the victims inside called the police, Smith continued to cause damage from the outside. 

He shattered the kitchen window, leant inside and waved the machete, before leaving a few moments later.

Smith also used the machete to break the glass of a Citroen Nemo and a Renault Capture, which were also parked in the street.

He was found by armed officers a short distance from the home asleep on the ground with the machete lying next to him.

Appearing at Huntingdon Law Courts on Tuesday, June 25, Smith was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary, possession of an offensive weapon and three counts of criminal damage.

The machete left on the ground (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)

Detective Constable Zoe Bramley, from the Cambridgeshire Police's Southern Acquisitive Crime Team, who investigated, said: "Smith’s actions cannot be blamed on his intoxication at the time.

"His actions demonstrated a level of planning as he was wearing gloves, a balaclava and was wielding a machete.

"He went on a rampage using extreme violence damaging three vehicles in the street before terrorising the occupants of the property he targeted.

"I hope that following this sentence, the victims can now feel safe within their community."