Dylan Steele: Teenager jailed over break-ins and car thefts in Treeton, Bramley, Wickersley and Dronfield

A Sheffield teenager has been jailed for five years and three months having appeared before court answering a total of 45 charges relating to two-in-one burglaries.

Dylan Steele, aged 19, was initially charged with 14 offences in June of this year. These included seven counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary and six counts of theft of a motor vehicle.

Steele’s initial offences took place across the Bramley, Wickersley and Treeton areas of Rotherham, as well as Dronfield in North Derbyshire between May and June this year.

He pleaded guilty to all of these offences, and requested 31 other burglary offences be taken into consideration. These offences took place between September 2022 and June 2023 across Rotherham, Sheffield and North Derbyshire.

These consisted of:

• 10 further offences in Rotherham - mainly in the districts of Aston, Swallownest and Wickersley
• Four further offences in Sheffield
• 17 further offences in the North Derbyshire area mainly throughout Chesterfield and Dronfield

Steele - formerly of Water Slacks Close, Woodhouse, Sheffield - was sentenced to five years and three months at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, September 22.

Investigation Officer Shannon Lake, from Rotherham’s Neighbourhood Crime Team, who led the investigation, said: "Steele’s offending was prolific and during his time with officers he explained how his preferred method of entry to homes was by snapping door locks.

"He would search for car keys and, when found, steal the victim’s vehicle. These were in the main high value premium vehicles.

"May I take this opportunity to encourage homeowners to review their home security and consider upgrading their locks to three-star anti-snap locks, as these are more secure. You can also install CCTV systems and driveway security bollards or an overt security device on your vehicles such as wheel clamps or steering locks.

"We hope that seeing Steele imprisoned will provide some closure to the victims whose properties he targeted and they can now start to move on with their lives.

"We will continue to target those who commit these despicable offences across our force area and the wider region, and want everyone who lives and works in South Yorkshire to feel their homes and vehicles are safe."