Burglar who boasted about his haul on Facebook caught after leaving footsteps in snow
Court hears Nathan Heath, 20, stole items totalled £26,000 and included a Ford Fiesta, tow laptops, a TV and cash, but was arrested when police tracked his footprints
Serial burglar Nathan Heath, left, posted photos of wads of cash, boasting about how rich he was
By Agency
2:37PM GMT 20 Feb 2015
A serial burglar who boasted about s haul on social media was caught by the footsteps he left in the snow from one of his victim's houses.
Nathan Heath was arrested after police tracked his footprints for almost a mile in the snow which led them to the items stolen from his most recent burglary.
The 20-year-old was described as a "one-man crime wave" by police after he admitted to 50 previously unsolved crimes.
His stolen items totalled £26,000 and included a Ford Fiesta, tow laptops, a TV and cash.
While on the run, Heath, a notorious gang member from Hull, East Yorkshire, boasted about his crimes on Facebook and claimed he would never be caught.
After Heath was jailed for three years at Hull Crown Court on Thursday February 19, PC Andy White from Humberside Police, said: "Nathan Heath is a one-man crime wave.
"We believe he has been prolific for a very long time.
"Not only was he committing crimes, mainly burglaries, in Hull, but in parts of the East Riding, too."
Waking up to see his front door ajar, the Heath's final burglary victim followed Heath's footprints for almost a mile from his home.
After reaching a property, the victim called police, who duly found Heath and the items he had stolen inside.
Detectives launched a manhunt for Heath, of north Hull, after he failed to appear at Hull Magistrates' Court on January 2.
Instead of appearing in court that day, charged with handling stolen goods, Heath was burgling another house in west Hull.
As well as stealing a Ford Fiesta from the property, Heath stole two laptops, a television, a games console, a wallet, a purse, jewellery, fishing equipment, a quad bike and cash.
Pictures posted by Heath of his loot
While on the run from police, Heath boasted about his crimes and claimed he would never be caught.
An account in the name of Nathan Heath Ov NHE (North Hull Estate) displays pictures of Heath posing with wads of cash.
Under one of the pictures, it says: "I ripped him off."
Sergeant Richard West, of the Northern neighbourhood policing team at Humberside Police, said: "Nathan Heath was prolific in committing crimes across the city.
"He was on the run for a month but we knew we would get him and bring him to justice.
"He has been removed from the streets and we hope this makes the city a safer place for residents."
Hull Crown Court heard how Heath had told officers he committed 35 separate burglaries between September 1 and January 26. Many of them were committed while homeowners slept in their beds.
In total, £26,075 of items were stolen in those raids - none of which have been recovered.
One incident during the early hours of November 17 saw Heath target a family home after an argument the previous day.
A man told Heath to stop urinating against a public wall.
The following night, the man's house in north Hull was burgled by Heath.
After snatching house keys through a cat flap, Heath stole items worth £21,000 - including a Vauxhall Astra, a Volkswagen work van, a mobile phone, a laptop, power tools, a wallet, a purse and cash.
On leaving the property, Heath painted an offensive word across the home's windows.
After the burglary on January 2, the victim took to Facebook to appeal for information about his stolen Ford Fiesta.
In doing so, he came across the Facebook page Nathan Heath ov NHE. The cover photograph had been changed to a picture of Heath posing in the victim's stolen car.
Heath's final burglary happened on Tuesday, February 3.
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Detective Constable Lee Sims, of the priority crime team in Hull, said: "Nathan Heath has admitted being responsible for 56 offences.
"They were taken into account as part of his sentencing.
"By admitting all these offences and the harm he has caused, it is hoped Heath will break his cycle of offending when he leaves prison.
"At the same time, his many victims know he has been brought to justice.
"With Heath, we used Operation Cleanslate.
"This gives offenders an opportunity to admit offences, many of which the police may be unaware of their involvement in."
