Two teenagers have been jailed for their parts in a series of burglaries and attempted burglaries across Rossendale.

Rohan Brown and Declan Steel, both 19, pleaded guilty to two burglaries and three attempted burglaries in Crawshawbooth and Rawtenstall on Monday, August 8, 2022.

Brown, of Ribbleton Lane, Preston, pleaded guilty in December last year while Steel, whose last recorded address was HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, pleaded guilty in February of this year.

Prosecuting, Amanda Johnson said the burglaries took place when five residential premises in Rossendale were targeted by a group of four males. The other two males in the group have not been identified.

The first burglary took place in Spencer Street, Crawshawbooth, at around 4.47am.

The occupant phoned the police reporting he had been disturbed by intruders and upon going downstairs, found the lock on his door snapped and keys to an Audi Q2 were stolen along with a jacket worth around £250.

The Audi was not stolen though due to the burglars being disturbed.

Police in the area who attended the first burglary then located a high-value bicycle disposed of in the road.

A search of the area found another rear deadlock at a house in Bonfire Hill Road to be snapped.

The occupant confirmed the bike, worth around £4,000, was hers.

CCTV footage recovered from houses in the area showed a group of four males in black clothing and wearing balaclavas walking between properties and trying to hide in bushes.

Another attempted burglary took place at around 5.30am in Beech Street, Rossendale, when another door handle was snapped.

The occupant, who was asleep on the sofa, said nothing was stolen and he was not sure if entry was gained.

The next attempt was in Oakenhead Green, which was also unsuccessful.

A woman living in Barnes Avenue was woken by a barking dog and woke to see the group stood in front of her door.

One of them spotted her and they all ran in the direction of Schofield Street, but one dropped a pair of silver mole grips which were recovered by the police.

By this time, there were more officers and a search dog in the area, which managed to pick up a trail of the group.

They found Brown hiding in a garden and when he refused to comply, the dog ran towards him.

Brown threw a plastic garden chair at the dog in defence and attempted to escape by climbing onto a garage roof, but was detained.

He was found with a mobile phone, gloves, balaclava and a screwdriver.

The final burglary, which was only discovered later, took place in York Street, Crawshawbooth.

The occupant phoned police to say entry had been gained to her living room but the group had not gone any further due to being disturbed by dogs.

Hannah Forsyth, mitigating for Brown, said: “This is a defendant who has demonstrated some remorse and a considerable degree of insight into his offending.

“He regrets what he has done and wishes to apologise to the victims in this case. He wants no special treatment and known he must be punished for his offending.”

She added Brown had a difficult background growing up and has struggled with learning, development and mental health.

He has been on remand for previous offences for 10 months and this has given him an opportunity to reflect.

Niamh McGinty, mitigating for Steel, said he “clearly played a role in the offending but was not the mastermind behind this operation”.

She added Steel was generally the one trailing behind the group but accepts responsibility for the joint nature of the offences.

He was sentenced for previous offences of a similar nature in October and has been released on license from those, but remains on remand for these offences.

Sentencing, District Judge Richard Clews said: “I cannot accept you were simply looking around the area at random and choosing at the spur of the moment what to do.

“It’s clear from the cars you were targeting you were interested in high powered and expensive vehicles.

“The householders were present inside and asleep. Most of them were disturbed and you knew that was likely to be the case.

“The damage caused to gain entry was limited but you knew how to damage the locks of these doors to gain access.

“It does not appear you actually got away with any cars. The most that seems to be missing is some clothing.”

Judge Clews sentenced Brown to 16 months in a young offenders’ institute, with each charge to run concurrently. However, this will be reduced having already served 10 months on remand.

Steel was sentenced to six months for each charge to run concurrently. Had he not already served 15 on remand, he would have been given 21 months.

Given this, he will be entitled to release in approximately two months and will serve the remainder of the sentence on license, with six months of post-sentence supervision to follow.