A burglar who fled the country after he broke into an pensioner's home has been jailed.

Peter Lee (50) pleaded guilty after he forced his way into the home of an 83 year-old woman near Brynteg in October 2023.

His accomplice, Billie Jo Kane (27) was jailed for two and a half years in February after she admitted the violent break-in.

Caernarfon Crown Court heard Lee and Kane, both of no fixed abode, ransacked the pensioner's home, demanding money and pouring bleach on the furniture.

Lee continued to threaten and push the woman while Kane disconnected the phone line to prevent her from calling for help.

The pair fled with £100 in cash, car keys and other sentimental items including photographs of the victim’s late son and husband.

Police later found the car used during the burglary, which had been abandoned and buried on farmland in Llandyfrydog.

Both Kane and Lee fled to Ireland in June 2024 while the investigation was continuing - Kane was located and charged in September, before Lee was finally caught two months later.

In court, he pleaded guilty to burglary with violence and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

A second accomplice, Ieuan Parry (28) of Rhosgoch was given a suspended 16-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to assisting an offender.

Mold Crown Court heard Parry, who was Kane's former partner, had assisted her to bury the car she had used for the burglary.

Following sentencing on Wednesday, DCI Richard Griffith of North Wales Police said: "Lee’s imprisonment is the conclusion to an excellent investigation which has brought the defendants to justice for an awful crime which targeted a vulnerable elderly woman inside her own home."

“Lee and Kane callously stole sentimental items of such high value that were irreplaceable to the victim, which have sadly never been recovered."

“Kane’s actions cannot be underestimated and although no sentence will reflect the everlasting trauma experienced by the victim, I commend her bravery throughout the investigation.”