A PROLIFIC criminal who broke into a family's Altrincham home during a botched knifepoint burglary has been jailed.

David Aaron Alan Foster initially claimed he was chasing after the real culprits when he was detained by officers close to the scene of the crime at a property in Medway Crescent.

Foster, 33, of no fixed abode but with connections to the Wigan area, was sentenced to nine years in prison with a further three years on licence at Minshull Street Crown Court on Tuesday, October 28.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary at an earlier hearing.

Police Sergeant Phil Seeley said: "Foster has a long history of this type of offending and has persistently failed to change his ways.

"His initial claim that he was merely chasing the real thieves was as ludicrous as it was laughable, and when a forensic expert matched his footwear to prints we recovered from the kitchen floor, he quickly fell silent.

Foster was one of three men involved in the aggravated burglary, which occurred at around 5am on March 11 this year.

The homeowner, his wife and daughter were inside and were awoken by the family dog growling and barking.

The alarm was then triggered and the man, closely followed by his daughter, went downstairs to investigate.

They were shocked to see a man brandishing a knife in their kitchen, before he demanded keys to the car. The man refused and all three men fled.

Police dispatched a specialist-trained dog, which tracked Foster's scent to a nearby garden, where he was arrested.

As he was being cautioned, he claimed he was chasing the two culprits and had retrieved a laptop.

Discarded in a flower border next to where he was arrested was the laptop, a handbag, umbrella, a bottle of perfume and other personal items which had been stolen from the home.

Footprints left on the tiled kitchen floor of the house were forensically matched to the footwear worn by Foster.

Sergeant Seeley added: “This burglary left the family extremely upset that their home had been invaded in such a way and although they got their stolen property back, anyone who has been a victim of such a crime will know how unsettling it is to have your personal items rifled through by a thief.

"Foster clearly has no regard for the welfare of his victims and the streets are a safer place now that he is behind bars.”