Burglary duo jailed for Pembrokeshire and Neath crime spree

Two men have been sentenced to prison after carrying out a string of burglaries across Pembrokeshire and the Neath area last autumn.

Darren Inder, 46, and Christopher Welke, 43, appeared at Swansea Crown Court facing charges relating to break-ins committed between September and October last year.

The court heard how Inder targeted a holiday cottage in Nolton Haven on the night of 18 October, stealing torches and £200 from guests before raiding the owner’s farmhouse for cash, coffee and milk. That same night, he broke into another Nolton Haven property, taking food, a knife and a backpack. Days later on 24 October, he struck again in Broad Haven, stealing cash from a home there.

Both men were involved in burglaries on Dynevor Avenue in Neath during the early hours of 4 October. One homeowner was woken by police at 3am asking if their front door had been left open. Doorbell camera footage captured the pair leaving the address.

A neighbour discovered their Fiat Panda missing from the driveway. Their doorbell footage showed Welke ducking to avoid the camera before getting into the stolen vehicle. The defendants had entered through the conservatory, making off with a purse, bank card and two collectable pound coins. Footprint analysis from the property and the recovered car matched Welke.

Inder’s crime spree also included stealing lip filler products valued at around £8,000 from a garage on Church Crescent in Baglan, and cigarettes and a lighter from Cae Canol on 30 September. He also burgled two elderly residents at Traherne Court in Neath on 4 October, after stealing cigarettes, a suitcase and alcohol from his own mother’s home on 1 October.

Prosecutor Alycia Carpanini outlined the various offences to the court.

Inder, of Chamberlain Road in Neath, admitted 11 burglary offences. He has 26 previous convictions for 92 offences, including 57 for theft and dishonesty.

James McKenna, representing Inder, told the court his client made “full and frank admissions” during his police interview. He said Inder had “effectively spiralled out of control” and returned to using Class A drugs “at an alarming rate”, but was now attempting to make good use of his time in prison.

Welke, of Southall Avenue in Skewen, pleaded guilty to two burglary offences and one count of theft of a motor vehicle. The 43-year-old has 91 convictions for 229 offences, with 148 relating to dishonesty.

Inder was jailed for four-and-a-half years, whilst Welke received two years and three months behind bars.