Conman admits posing as fake council worker to burgle home of vulnerable Dispatch district woman

Dean Marriott, 52, pretended to scan different areas around the house using a ‘remote control’ as part of the elaborate ruse, before then distracting the victim and stealing her phone and handbag.

Officers were able to identify Marriott as a suspect, after CCTV filmed outside the house on Aldgate Close in Bulwell, showed him looking through the kitchen window before the distraction burglary and then leaving the house with a handbag and phone shortly afterwards.

Marriott, of no fixed address, was chased by officers after returning to the property five hours after the incident on January 21 while carrying a plastic bag containing the stolen iPhone 12, which he claimed someone had ‘told me to bring back because it’s all over Facebook’.

After being arrested and charged with the offence, Marriott appeared before Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on January 29 where he pleaded guilty to burglary and theft.

He will appear before Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on February 21.

Detective Constable Demi Robertson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We are extremely pleased to have been able to secure a conviction in this case, which saw a thief deceive his way into someone’s home under false pretences.

“Stamping out burglaries from our communities is one of our key priorities, we know how important it is for people to feel safe within their own homes.

"Targeting vulnerable individuals is completely unacceptable.

“The message is clear – burglary and theft will never be tolerated and offenders will be found and punished.”