Burglars end up in hot water after police discover them hiding in hot tub

Police discovered the two suspects in the tub - with a third hiding in a trailer - following a break in and theft of a car.

The trio were responsible for targeting high-value Audi and Volkswagen vehicles in North Yorkshire.

Ryan Wilkinson, 25, of St Edwins Drive, Dunscroft, Cyle Jenkins, 23, of Princess Avenue, Stainforth, and Adrian Askin, 28, of Poplar Road, Skellow, have now been jailed for a total of nearly 30 years.

Police received a report of a terrifying burglary at a home in Camblesforth just after 11.30pm on October 21 2024.

Three masked men entered a home after banging on the door, shouting ‘It’s the Police’, while threatening to force entry if the door wasn’t opened.

Once inside, the offenders violently assaulted the victim in front of her terrified elderly mother, demanding the key to her Audi RS3.

Although the group managed to locate the car keys and start the vehicle, the victim, despite being punched in the face, refused to provide the code to her immobiliser that she had installed as an additional layer of security, meaning the car was immobilised.

Her persistent refusal meant the offenders fled empty-handed.

Before leaving through the back garden, the men smashed the victim’s mobile phone and took the landline telephone to stop her calling for help.

However, she managed to alert a neighbour, who immediately contacted police.

It was only after the ordeal that she recalled seeing a suspicious vehicle passing by her home the previous day as she cleaned the car.

The following evening, the group struck again in the Gilberdyke area of East Yorkshire and the Carlton area of North Yorkshire.

Humberside Police were alerted to the first burglary after the victim discovered that their back door lock has been forcibly removed and the blinds drawn back.

Their car keys had been stolen, and with them, a Volkswagen Golf R parked outside, which had only been purchased three weeks earlier.

In Carlton, the victim was awoken just after 2.30am by his dog barking.

As he entered the kitchen, he was confronted by a masked man armed with a crowbar and firearm.

The intruder threatened to shoot him and kill his dog if he didn’t hand over his car keys.

The group had broken in by damaging the lock on the side door to the house.

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After taking the keys, they fled with the car.

The victim didn’t realise at the time, but the firearm which had been used to threaten him was his own air rifle, which was later found inside the stolen vehicle recovered from Gilberdyke.

Following intelligence work, the stolen vehicles were tracked travelling in convoy on false numberplates, and eventually sighted heading towards Austerfield, Doncaster.

Officers from all three forces were immediately dispatched to the area.

PC Sam Egan-Wyer from South Yorkshire Police, using his local knowledge of routes commonly used by cross-border offenders, positioned himself with a stinger device, used to deflate vehicle tyres.

As one of the vehicles passed. He deployed the device, successfully puncturing several tyres.

Despite this, the vehicle continued with deflated tyres and eventually on the rims. It went off road and was temporarily lost before rejoining the A614 and heading into a housing estate in Lindholme, Doncaster.

It was later located with front offside collision damage.

As officers from the three forces began searching the area, with support of the National Police Air Service helicopter, an eagle-eyed member of public reported seeing males in a nearby hot tub.

Footage released by North Yorkshire Police shows the moment that Wilkinson and Askin were tracked to a garden by a police dog unit where they were found soaking wet, hiding under a hot tub lid, while Jenkins was discovered concealed in a trailer in the same garden.

Despite providing no comment during interviews, the three suspects were charged and later pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary in Carlton, burglary in Gilberdyke, and two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, and were remanded in custody.

'Nightmares'

In a Victim Impact Statement read out in court, the victim of the Camblesforth burglary described how her immediate concern upon opening the door to three masked men was for the safety of her elderly mother and she described how the events of that night continue to haunt her.

“When I opened the door to see those three men stood there in balaclavas, it gives me nightmares, and I have had nightmares. I will never forget what happened that night,” she said.

Her mother also recalled the terrifying events of that night, describing how she still wakes in the night, reliving the moment one of the masked men struck her daughter.

“I just remember his eyes, it was so frightening” she explained, before continuing, “It often plays on my mind, and I know that that night will live with me for the rest of my life.”

In his statement, the victim of the Carlton burglary told how, despite being threatened with a firearm, his primary concern was for his dog, which one of the masked men was swinging at with a crowbar.

He described how the incident has profoundly affected his sense of safety and changed the way he feels and behaves day to day.

“The incident really shook me up. I would always be looking over my shoulder, paranoid someone was about, I was never like this before but because of what happened, it’s changed how I feel and behave,” he said.

The victim from the Gilberdyke burglary described how the experience has left him struggling with anxiety and a deep sense of mistrust.

He explained that every morning, he and his wife check the blinds, fearing that they have been burgled again.

He ended by saying “I can honestly say you don’t know just how much of an incident like this in your own home can affect you until it happens.”

On November 21, at Sheffield Crown Court, they were sentenced to a combined total of almost thirty years.

Wilkinson was sentenced to nine years and four months. Askin was sentenced to ten years. Jenkins was sentenced nine years and four months.

'Terrifying and traumatic'

Following sentencing, Detective Constable Alex Dorlin from North Yorkshire Police, said: “These were terrifying and traumatic experiences for the victims of these burglaries, whose sense of safety in their own homes has been shattered, and the impact of which will be felt for a very long time.

"The bravery of the first victim, who withheld her immobiliser code, ultimately set off a chain of events that led to the group’s arrest the following night.

"I hope today’s sentences offer some closure that those responsible have been brought to justice.

“This was a standout example of joint policing, intelligence sharing and excellent teamwork. I’d particularly like to recognise the work of our Intelligence Unit in tracking down the stolen vehicles; colleagues from across the three forces, NPAS, and our Dog Unit for catching the suspects; and our Crime Scene Investigation team and Forensics Unit in linking the offenders through footwear evidence.

“Not to forget South Yorkshire Police’s PC Egan-Wyer's quick thinking in deploying the stinger, and their Op Castle Burglary team who supported the investigation throughout.

"Thanks to fast action and skilled investigative work from all sides of the border we’ve taken a dangerous and violent group off the streets.”