A MAN who was accused of using a blowtorch to burn away a window frame to get into a home while the occupants slept has been found not guilty of the crime.

Jason McCreedy, 42, was charged after police believed he had broken into a home in Milthrop, near Sedbergh, and made off with £750 cash, two laptops, a sat nav and a wedding ring.

A jury at Carlisle Crown Court heard that Mr McCreedy of Sarsfield Road, Salterbeck, Workington, also attempted to break into a home on Patterdale Road, Windermere, sometime later.

Mr McCreedy was charged after his DNA was found on the handle of a screwdriver the intruder left at the scene of the Milthrop burglary in January last year.

Katie Jones, prosecuting, said that when police went to Mr McCreedy’s home they found two blowtorches in his ‘well secured and alarmed’ garden shed.

Mr McCreedy pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary and attempted burglary.

He told the jury that the screwdriver bearing his DNA must have been taken when someone broke into his shed shortly before the burglary.

He said that whoever broke into his shed was probably responsible for the two other incidents as well.

His wife Rachel supported his story about the break-in, but said she did not know what had been taken because ‘the shed is not really my domain’ and she had other things to worry about.

Mr McCreedy was found not guilty of both offences.