Police have used the mugshots of prolific burglar Stuart Whittle to show how the Class A drug will take its toll on the appearance of users
Before and after: These police mugshots illustrate how years of heroin addiction have taken their toll on the appearance of prolific burglar Stuart Whittle
Police have released shocking images showing how a man aged just 31 appears decrepit with sunken eyes, drooping lips and a receding hairline following years of heroin abuse.
Stuart Whittle was first pictured by cops in 2006 at 22 years of age when he was already battling his drug addiction which was fueled by a burgling crime spree.
But nine years on his youthful looks have gone after he is arrested over a newsagents break-in.
Whittle, from Farnworth, near Bolton, Greater Manchester, was jailed this week for four years after being convicted of four burglaries.
At previous hearings the court was told how his life had been ''destroyed'' by heroin.
The career criminal had a string of previous convictions, beginning when he was just 13 - and by the age of 17 he had already been convicted of burglary and theft eight times.
By 18 he had committed so many raids he was given 56 months in youth custody under the Government's then rarely used "three strikes and you're out" legislation which imposed heavy jail terms for repeat offenders.
During that time the crook was set to go before a judge over an 18-month crime spree during which he burgled a least 18 homes - even breaking into an 82-year-old woman's bungalow while she was out in her garden.
He stole property and cash worth £4,500, and frittered the money on heroin.
Whittle's eldest victim was 93 and many of his victims were either in their 70s or 80s.
During that hearing he was said to have been disowned by his family because of his addiction to heroin.
But in November 2006 Whittle was back in court after he targeted 30 elderly people whilst prowling a neighborhood on his bike looking for sheltered accommodation.
During a six-month crime spree, he took more than £5,000 from the handbags and purses of his victims after claiming to be a relative of a neighbor.
One of his victims was aged 94, and he also knocked an 82-year-old man to the ground. He was caught after being spotted loitering at a house where a zimmer frame had been left outside the front door.
He later took officers on a tour of the addresses where he had struck. He was jailed for four years and eight months after a judge said he posed a high risk of harm to the public.
In the latest bout of offending, Whittle broke into the Zam Zam News shop in Farnworth through the store's roof late at night on November 26 last year.
He removed the ceiling panels and dropped down into the shop but triggered the alarm.
A police dog caught Whittle red-handed and officers discovered he had also broken into another shop next door which shares the same roof.
Whittle's life of criminality
- 1997: burglary, sentence unknown
- 2002: burglary x 3, sentence unknown
- 2003: Burglary x 1 and 17 burglaries taken into consideration, sentence 56 months in a young offender institution
- 2006: Burglary x 2 and attempted burglary x 2, sentence four years and eight months
- 2013: Theft of Lottery scratchcard, sentenced to pay compensation
- 2015: Burglary x 4, sentence four years jail
Whittle was bailed so the minor injuries he sustained from the dog could heal and he subsequently disappeared. His latest mugshot was displayed in a local newspaper by police and he was dubbed one of Bolton's most wanted criminals.
A resident who saw the picture then recognized Whittle as being the same man he spoke to just seconds after a burglary that took place at the home of a 92-year-old woman the previous April - just 25 minutes before Whittle raid another home in the same street.
The crook was rearrested by a plain-clothed police officer who saw him walking towards a Co-operative bank on New Year's Eve 2014.
Det Con Andy Devine of Greater Manchester Police said: "Stuart Whittle is the sort of prolific, career criminal that every decent, law-abiding person fears.
"His track record shows that he does not discriminate - he simply burgles whomever and wherever he can and I would not hesitate to say the streets are far safer now he is behind bars.
"We were able to finally track him down thanks to some excellent security measures installed by the Zam Zam News store which meant Whittle was caught red-handed. However, rather than face justice he cowardly went on the run.
"His master-plan backfired because by going on the run, we were able to issue his image to the media.
''Thanks to the call from the elderly lady's neighbor we were able to link him to two further burglaries, lengthening the time he will spend behind bars.
"Tackling burglary is an absolute priority for police in Bolton as we know how distressing these types of crimes can be for the victims. And in taking someone like Whittle off the streets it's a major victory for not only us, but also for our communities who can sleep that bit easier knowing Whittle is in prison."
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