Men jailed after Farcet burglary where cleaner was threatened with baseball bats and homeowner’s bravery led to arrests

Kieran Ellis. (Image: Archant)

Wearing balaclavas, Zachary Lister, 23, Kieran Ellis, 24, and an accomplice walked in the front door of the home in Milk and Water Drove at about 2.45pm on February 28.

They threatened a cleaner, the only person at the home, telling her not to do anything while they ransacked the house, stealing cash and jewellery.

However, they realised the homeowners, a couple, were returning and fled out the front door.

The man realised what was happening and set off a panic alarm and then followed them in his car.

He called police after finding them walking calmly towards King’s Delph Drove.

They dropped a bag of items stolen from the house and attempted to get away in a waiting car but the car was involved in a crash with the victim’s car and they made off on foot.

However, officers tracked them down, arresting Lister in a haystack in nearby Milby Farm and later Ellis on the Cardea estate in Peterborough.

On Wednesday, Lister, of St Paul’s Road, Peterborough, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years and Ellis, of Saltmarsh, Peterborough, for seven years at Peterborough Crown Court.

They had pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary at previous hearings.

A third man was arrested and charged but was found not guilty following a trial last month.

DC Adam McCluskey, who investigated, said: “The extreme bravery of the victim allowed police to catch Lister and Ellis at the earliest opportunity. Without him, they might still be at large today.

“The sentence given reflects how serious this type of crime is viewed by the courts.”