A WREXHAM man who embarked on a 'campaign of burglaries' - worth over £12,000 in total - has been jailed.

Patrick Hadley, 21, of Y Wern, Wrexham appeared before Mold Crown Court on Friday, May 27.

He faced 11 charges - four counts of burglary, three counts of stealing a vehicle, three of dangerous driving and one common assault. 

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David Mainstone, prosecuting, told the court how Hadley's offending had begun on February 20 of this year.

On that date, victim Craig Squire had got up at midnight to check on his children and had heard his dog barking.

When he looked outside he saw a man - Hadley - crouching in the hedge line in the garden.

When he asked Hadley what he was doing, the defendant replied 'there's nothing to worry about'.

The court heard how he had 'made out that he had a knife in his pocket' and rushed at Mr Squire who rushed back to the house to lock the door.

During the encounter, Hadley managed to steal the victim's car keys out of his coat pocket and proceeded to steal the Dacia vehicle.

The car - which had been spotted driving 'erratically' by police officers in the area - was later discovered at Queensway. A police dog led the officers to flats where they found Hadley who 'appeared to be intoxicated'.

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PIC: Hadley was jailed at Mold Crown Court.

Later on April 9, a second burglary involving Hadley occurred at Green Park in Wrexham.

The owner of the house there was away on holiday with his wife and his sister was looking after the property. When she returned the next morning on April 10 she realised the side gate was open.

It was then discovered that Hadley had made off with the house owner's Ford Fiesta vehicle - which was later recovered.

He had also stolen expensive clothing items such as motorbike jackets and helmets, as well as a sum of cash and jewellery estimated to be worth a combined £12,000.

The victim, Steve Davies, said the incident had left him in a 'constant heightened state in his own home' and that he had had to buy security cameras as a result of it.

In the next burglary on, April 13, victim Gwenda Hewitt woke up in the night when she thought she saw a 'figure walking out of her bedroom door'.

She did not find Hadley in her property but later found that £140 in cash had been stolen from the house, along with a watch.

In the final burglary on April 19, Hadley stole a watch belonging to the victim's grandfather and also made off with another vehicle - a mini countryman which was later discovered 'covered in mud' at Acton Park.

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Andrew Green, defending Hadley, said that the defendant had a 'very bad record' and 'accepted that a custodial sentence was inevitable'.

He added that Hadley has had a cannabis habit for many years which had 'spiralled out of control'.

Sentencing Hadley, Judge Niclas Parry called his offending a 'campaign of burglaries'.

He added: "You're offending has had a significant impact. People have had to change the way they live from day to day."

He sentenced Hadley to a total of four years in prison and disqualified him from driving for a period of five years.