Rotherham burglar with whopping 80 offences targeted vulnerable pensioners in sheltered housing, court hears
A Rotherham lag with a whopping 80 offences on his record targeted vulnerable pensioners in sheltered housing during a slew of burglaries, a court heard.
Michael Hirst, aged 53, swiped jewellery, cash, bank cards and mobile phones from his victims during a spate of three home raids in a fortnight - all committed at a 50s-plus sheltered housing complex.
Hirst, Sheffield Crown Court heard, has around 80 offences on his criminal record, 40 of which were for dishonesty and 14 for burglary.
He had claimed the latest burglaries were not targeted or planned as he had been sleeping rough in some bushes opposite the over-50s housing complex on Kenneth Street in Rotherham town centre for some time.
However Judge Michael Slater said he was “quite satisfied” Hirst was “fully aware” that his victims were elderly and vulnerable.
He told Hirst: “You first appeared before the courts as a teenager when you were 14 in 1987. Between then and 2009 you’ve appeared before the court virtually every year, save when you were serving a custodial sentence.”
Hirst’s offending was a result of his drug use, the court heard, however he was now clean after being remanded into jail.
Amy Earnshaw, prosecuting, described how during one incident - the first burglary on October 19, 2025 - Hirst strolled into the unlocked door of a blind man’s home, fleecing his property while the victim slept.
After awaking from a snooze around 6pm Hirst’s victim had walked into a chair in his flat that the burglar had displaced and could feel a “draft” coming from the kitchen window.
His headphones were missing along with his wallet, keys and mobile phones and he later described feeling “sick to the bottom of my boots” to police.
In another burglary at the same address three days later on October 22, Hirst was found by a “terrified” woman “crouching” in her kitchen before disappearing through an open window.
During Hirst’s final burglary before his arrest on November 1 he was found by police hiding in a disabled pensioner’s bedroom - having initially told the shocked officers he was her “carer”.
Officers found Hirst harbouring jewellery taken during a previous burglary from another victim.
Judge Slater told Hirst his lies to police at the scene showed it was “clear” he knew his victims were vulnerable.
The burglaries were all committed while Hirst was on bail for a shed break-in the previous August in which he stole tools worth £1,000, a suitcase, a car battery and a hedge trimmer.
Hirst, of Rolls Crescent, Manor Farm estate, Rawmarsh, was jailed for three years and four months. He admitted burglary.